Twisted Shadows
by VFSNAKE
Summary: AU of what happened after Orion Pax Part 3. It didn't end happy for Jack. Injured and at the mercy of Megatron...how is he going to survive? Will he be able to recover? Will he ever be the same after what happens to him? Will the Bots recognize him when the time comes. Or is he lost to them forever?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-A Turn for the Worst

Megatron had Arcee pinned to the wall, his glowing red optics glowing with bloodlust while holding the femme Autobot in a vice grip, and wasn't in the mood for games. Up until now he had been so close to removing Optimus Prime permanently from existence. First, his sworn enemy lost his memories, and became Orion Pax once more. A naive Cybertronian wanting to save their world from corruption and ultimately the destruction that he feared would await their race. Now he had a chance to destroy the Key to Vector Sigma, which Megatron knew held the means to restore Optimus's memories, and return him back into the great warrior the former gladiator of Kaon had been fighting for well over a thousand years. Once the key was crushed, he could rip the spark of Orion Pax from his former friend's chest plate, and truly be the victor in this conflict.

"Now...if you would be so kind to hand over the Key to Vector Sigma," spoke Megatron to Arcee struggling in his grip and it was at that point he notice the femme did not have the key in her hands.

So where was it?

A light caught the corner of his optics gave him the answer, as he saw Orion Pax kneel before the human boy, who the Decepticon Warlord had encountered several times in the past, and was holding the Key to Vector Sigma in his hand. The trail of energy from the key was traveling into Orion's spark chamber, allowing all the knowledge, and collective wisdom of the Thirteen Primes to turn the former clerk into Optimus Prime once again.

How could he have miscalculated?! The human boy, not the femme in front of him was the one Optimus gave the Key to Vector Sigma to, and the miscalculation was costing him total victory!

The Decepticon Warlord dropped Arcee, running towards the kneeling Autobot, and the human in the hopes of striking them both down before they could turn this against him. Sadly, it didn't happen, as Optimus caught his blade with his hands, and the Autobot leader was landing punch after punch on his metallic face. To make matters even worse, the other Autobots were starting to recover from their downed states Megatron had put them in, and it was only a matter of time before they rallied together to put the Warlord down.

However, it seemed Primus, or maybe even Unicron (given the dark energon still running through him) was feeling merciful to some extent when a Ground Bridge opened up near them. Megatron saw this, as did Optimus, but the Decepticon Leader _knew_ the Ground Bridge was not from his side, and the Autobots were going to leave while they still had the chance. Enraged by how things were turning out, Megatron got up quickly from the ground, firing his Fusion Cannon at the group, his aim was a bit off, but leaving a lasting, or fatal injury even by chance would be a victory for him nonetheless.

"This one is ours. We need to go!" exclaimed Bulkhead, as he took a hit here, and there though his thick armor based design allowed him to take a few hits.

One of the energy shots aimed at Team Prime nearly hit Jack, who ducked slightly, and soon felt Arcee pick him up before heading for the Ground Bridge. The blue femme was rushing to the Ground Bridge, dodging energy shot after energy shot, but one of them hit her around her left side of her breast plating, and she staggered with the sudden feeling of the weight in her arms being lost to her. Before Arcee could even contemplate what that meant, another blast hit her right shoulder, and Bulkhead grabbed the blue femme before almost dragging her through the Ground Bridge.

"He's coming with _US_ this time!" exclaimed Bulkhead before leaping through the Ground Bridge with Arcee with Ratchet and Optimus being the last to leap through it.

Leaving a very irate Megatron to yell out in anger at this humiliating defeat. His chance to finally destroy Optimus Prime and be one step away from victory over the Autobots before the inevitable conquering of this planet that held the slumbering spark of Unicron himself! Now the Autobots had their leader back, their spirits, and moral would reach an all time high while his own troops on the Nemesis would see this failure as an excuse to question their leader's ability to _lead_!

Megatron was so angry...he almost didn't hear the sound of something groaning in what sounded like...pain?! Curious, his red optics scanned for the source of the noise, and soon founded it when they zoomed in on figure that made the Decepticon Warlord's fury filled face turn go into reverse with a cruel smile.

"Well, isn't _this_ a surprise," said Megatron before letting out a chuckle and kneeled down to get a better look at this..._interesting_ situation lying at his feet.

(Autobot Base)

The atmosphere at the Autobot Base was filled with joy. How could it not? The Autobot Leader was back in the game once more, Megatron's scheme for Optimus when he was Orion Pax had been foiled, and all seemed right with the world! The Autobots themselves had dents, dings, scraped, and cuts all over their robotic bodies but aside from that...they were fine.

"It has truly been our darkest hour without you Optimus," declared Ratchet with Optimus nodding before the leader of the Autobots looked at the Decepticon symbol that was on his shoulder where the Autobot symbol had been prior.

"While I have no memory of what happened since our victory over Unicron old friend...a part of me is sure I want to know what has transpired during that time," replied Optimus with Ratchet nodding in agreement since the Autobot Medic wouldn't want to know if he was in his leader's place.

"Where's Jack? Jack?! " asked June, as she looked around the Autobots for her only child. and didn't find him with Team Prime.

"Hey where is Jack? Shouldn't he'd be out in front with the rest of you?" asked Miko, as she looked around the main area of the base, and didn't find the boy here with the rest of them.

"Arcee has him," answered Bulkhead before he along with everyone else looked at the injured femme, who looked back at them in horror, and it was in that horrible agonizing moment the sudden realization of what transpired during their escape from the area where Megatron's Space Bridge had been located.

Jack had been hit by one of the energy blasts shot from Megatron's Fusion Cannon that hit Arcee and made him fall out of the blue femme's grasp.

(Location of the Space Bridge)

Jack felt pain coursing through his entire body. His body felt like it was on fire, yet he knew that wasn't the case, and his vision wasn't clear. His memory of recent events wasn't so hot either. He recalled the Ground Bridge for the Bots opening up, energy blasts being fired at them, Arcee grabbing him, and one of the energy blasts fired from Megatron...oh scrap!

The sound the angry metallic titan leader of the Decepticons echoed throughout the large room, his heavy ground shaking footsteps when he charged after Optimus leaped through the Ground Bridge made the boy literally bounce with contact with the ground, and Jack fought to hold in the cries of pain his voice wanted him to make. Jack succeeded at first, until he tried to move slightly to hide in a corner where Megatron wouldn't find him, and felt an intense pain run through his right leg that told the boy it was broken in multiple places.

"Well, isn't _this_ a surprise," said Megatron before letting out a chuckle and kneeled down to get a better look at this..._interesting_ situation lying at his feet.

Jack's body froze, as he looked up, his vision clearly not what it should be right now, and saw _three_ different Megatron's looking down at him.

And each Megatron was smiling an evil smile that made Jack's skin crawl.

"Oh scrap," mumbled Jack and saw Megatron grinning further at him.

"How interesting that you should be a state similar, yet different to my own not that long ago," stated Megatron to the injured human boy before him.

"Yeah. Real interesting," Jack replied sarcastically while feeling blood leaking from the side of his mouth.

"You've been a pain in my servos recently human. Its bad enough you spared my life in that cave, but you went to Cybertron, but you _found_ Vector Sigma, and used the _key_ to the place of legend in order to restore Optimus Prime's memories. If I wasn't your enemy, I would be impressed by what you've done in such a short time," stated Megatron before he carefully picked up the injured human boy.

"I don't suppose I've impressed you enough to simply let me live and be returned to the Autobots?" asked Jack with Megatron letting out a cruel laugh.

"Hardly _boy_! I might let you live, if only long enough to get the location of the Autobot's base, and maybe let you witness the death of Optimus Prime," replied Megatron with a cruel smile on his face before contacting Soundwave to create a Ground Bridge for him.

"Yeah. You've been so successful in doing that in the past," Jack replied sarcastically and he cried out in pain when Megatron put pressure on the boy's injured body when giving it a light squeeze.

A light squeeze by Cybertronian standards.

"Careful boy. I'm being extremely _generous_ in letting you live this long. You owe me the life of an Iakon Clerk and a Prime. I intend to see to it that you pay such a heavy debt and with interest by the time I'm done with you," growled Megatron while seeing Jack was now gritting his teeth and trying to deny the Decepticon Warlord any further pleasure in hearing the boy's cries of pain.

Though Jack knew the crazy Con would have plenty of chance to try again real soon.

(Autobot Base)

"What do you mean you lost Jack?! How could you lose him?! He was in your arms and you let him go!" June exclaimed hysterically, as she looked at Arcee, who was still trying to understand things herself, and yet the blue femme Autobot's computerized brain was still stuck in the moment where she had lost her partner.

The memory of how she lost him kept repeating over in her mind. The blasts of energy being fired around them, her grabbing Jack's tiny spacesuit covered form, one of them hitting Arcee where she was holding Jack, and another hitting her other shoulder. She was caught with a brief flash of pain when hit, Bulkhead grabbing her, and no doubt the former Wrecker thought she was still holding onto Jack despite her injuries. Why didn't she protest? Why didn't she say, "I don't have Jack! Stop Bulkhead!", or possibly call out to the others to get Jack?

But she didn't. Arcee had lost her hold on Jack. She had lost her partner and now he was at the mercy (what little of it there was) of Megatron. Even _worse_, was Airachnid would want to get her claws on Jack for all the trouble he caused her ever since arriving here on Earth, and would no doubt plead her case to the Decepticon Leader. Those two psychos would destroy Jack for everything he's done to them and would do it with smiles on their faces.

"You have to go back there after him before Megatron finds Jack!" exclaimed Raf, as he whimpered in fear at what Megatron would do to Jack once the Warlord found him, and no doubt the entire Decepticon army on the _Nemesis_ would form a line to do it too.

"We can't," replied Ratchet while seeing the horror on each human face staring at him and Arcee herself looked like he just spat in Primus's face!

"What do you mean we can't?! Jack is my partner! You can't honestly expect me to just leave him there to die alone if Megatron saw him. Even worse, Jack will suffer at the hands of Megatron if he's discovered Jack in the aftermath of our escape. You know how Megatron's pride took a hit when Jack didn't finish him off in the cave with that drill!" exclaimed Arcee with June looking surprised by that last part, as did Fowler, and Raf too since the whole situation was tight lipped.

"What do you mean when Jack didn't finish Megatron off with the drill?" asked June, as she felt her heart could barely take anymore bad news, and hearing how the alien enemy had a _reason_ for hurting her son was even worse!

"We were looking at an old energon mine the Decepticons had abandoned a few years ago and we investigated. Though it would have been just me and Bulkhead if Miko didn't decide to run into the cave like an _idiot_! Megatron and Starscream arrived moments after we all went into investigate why we were getting readings of energon from the stripped mine and recover Miko before she got lost in the place. Jack and I walked in on Megatron about to kill Starscream with a short battle occurring with a cave in that soon followed as a result. Jack and I got separated as a result with him finding one of the Cons' drilling machines before somehow managing to pilot it in order to make a path. At one point, he ran into Megatron, who was pinned down by heavy rocks, and was completely helpless. Jack could have killed him right then and there with the drill," answered Arcee with the others, who didn't know this story gasping when hearing this, and it was clear that even Miko didn't know that last part.

"Why didn't Jack uh you know...kill him?" asked Raf curiously.

"Because it was something Optimus wouldn't have done despite what Megatron told him to the contrary. From what Jack told me...Megatron practically tried to goad Jack into using the drill in order to 'seize the day' and tried to have him 'think of the glory' in using the drill to end his spark. But Jack just couldn't do it. Jack wouldn't kill Megatron that way simply because he knew Optimus wouldn't do it either in his position. The fact Jack rejected Megatron's taunting no doubt hurt the Decepticon Leader's pride and earned Jack his ire in the process," stated Arcee while she saw Ratchet wincing and Optimus Prime himself was surprised that Megatron would use such twisted words to make Jack stain his still innocent soul with such a dishonorable action.

"When you add to the fact Jack returned Optimus's memories into the mix...it will just be another strike against him since its clear Megatron saw that happen," Ratchet said with his own input into the matter.

"I have my own experience with the Cons and I know for a fact they have a mean streak longer then the Washington Monument when scorned in even the slightest of ways. Jack's going to be in for a world of hurt," Fowler stated and winced when he saw June looking ready to collapse from the sudden stress of the situation.

"Way to make things worse for her," mumbled Miko to Fowler and winced when she saw Jack's Mom begin to sway before collapsing on the ground.

Ratchet was able to put her on a nearby human size gurney they had out for such things and he did a scan of the woman before shaking his head.

"She's unconscious from the stress of what we just learned and fainted. The only thing we can do is let her rest for now," replied Ratchet while seeing the others look relieved the woman was all right, but they were still concerned for Jack, and what was about to befall him while on the _Nemesis_.

"I don't blame her. She was terrified of Arachnid when in her clutches and was basically dropped into our laps when the fighting started to escalate around here. If she knew about half the things her son has been through...fainting would be the least of her worries," said Arcee and everyone with the exception of Optimus winced since the woman would have had a heart attack by this point.

Especially if she heard about the infestation that occurred with the Scraplets or the fact a Decepticon zombie named Skyquake had chased all three kids inside that of an alternate dimension. Not to mention the moving train that was going to crash thanks to M.E.C.H if Optimus didn't stop it from happening after Jack along with Miko to stall Silas's agents when they tried to take a dangerous alternative power source.

"What about Jack? Can't you guys quickly bridge back there? To see if Megatron missed him?" asked Raf knowing there might be a chance the Decepticon Warlord missed their friend.

Humans were hard to see when the Cybertronians were in bipedal form.

"Unfortunately, we can't go back without the risk of walking right into a prepared trap by Megatron meant to ambush us the moment we exit the Ground Bridge. The Decepticons would detain whoever is sent through in an instant, enter the Ground Bridge, and hit the base while causing maximum amount of damage to it before we could stop them. Even if we repelled those that came into the base, some of them could get out, and easily reveal our location to Megatron to further ensure his victory over us," stated Ratchet and it was clear no one liked his answer.

No matter how hard it was to hear much less swallow.

"So we just sit on our afts and do nothing?!" questioned Arcee, as she kept picturing Jack already injured form at the mercy of Megatron, _and_ Airachnid with neither Decepticon showing an inch of mercy to the boy.

Her friend.

Her partner.

"Ratchet will try locating Megatron's Warship, but in the meantime we can do nothing to help Jack no matter how much we want to save him. We must first heal our injuries and then prepare for our next engagement with the Decepticons," ordered Optimus though he felt his words didn't have the strength they once possessed in the past.

"I'll be ready no matter what condition my body is in," stated Arcee, as she was going to make ever Decepticon she met pay for every injury they landed on Jack, and the femme was going to make them talk before she cut them down.

Every single strike they made against Jack's person would be another loss in the number of Decepticons under Megatron's command by her hands.

"Optimus, we may need to consider the possibility that Jack might...tell Megatron about our location. We should setup a secondary base of operations should that happen," stated Ratchet with Optimus closing his optics for a second in thought.

"While I do not believe Jackson would tell Megatron anything, it is unknown just how badly injured he is, and the breaking point the boy has from them as a result. Megatron will not hesitate to unleash his wrath on the boy and I dare not imagine the horror that he will face alone. You have my permission to scout for another potential base old friend, but it is _only_ a last resort for us in the event Jackson's Will does break, and tell Megatron our base's location," answered Optimus while the leader of the Autobots silently hoped the worst possible outcome didn't happen.

At the same time, deep within himself, Optimus Prime silently prayed that Primus would somehow intervene, and show Jack mercy in honor of all the things the boy had done for them.

Jack had earned it.

(_The_ _Nemesis _-Sometime Later)

Megatron walked into the Medlab to see Knock Out there, checking his equipment that had been used to interrogate past Autobot prisoners, and some future ones too if given the chance. However, for the moment anyway, the tools of the trade Knock Out had on hand would be used on a smaller, yet no less valuable a target, and while the human body was fragile...the spirit behind the flesh was indeed strong.

Megatron looked forward to seeing it break with the rest of the human boy's body.

"Knock Out! How is our..._guest_ on your table doing?" asked Megatron while seeing the conscious and in pain human laying on the metal slab in chained restraints after removing the charred remains of his primitive spacesuit from his body.

When Megatron returned, he had informed the crew of what happened with many not liking the outcome of losing the chance for victory, which was expected when hearing such news, _BUT_ the Decepticon Warlord turned it around by showing the injured boy in his one clawed hand, and announced he would make the human tell him the location of the Autobot base to bring about total victory for the Decepticon cause. Some were still skeptical until Knock Out remarked how the Autobots relied on the humans to give them a tactical advantage and this gave them all a chance to use it against their enemies for a change. When the other Decepticons learned this boy held the Key to Vector Sigma, many were shocked Optimus Prime would entrust such an ancient relic to the human, and Megatron informed them that this boy had Prime's unwavering trust.

And that the boy was the human equivalent of a Prime in training.

"Same old same old Lord Megatron. I've patched him up the best I could given how you wish to..._question_ him about the Autobot base. His leg still needs work, but I figured that could wait a little while longer in case you wish to put some..._pressure_ on it," answered Knock Out with a smile on his smug face and the Lord of all Decepticons grinned at him before turning to Jack.

"How about it boy? Will you spare yourself future pain and tell me where the Autobot Base his located? Knock Out might even fix up your leg if I like what I hear," stated Megatron in a gracious sounding voice though anyone who knew the Warlord knew it was a fake kindness.

"Never. Do your worst aft face. I won't tell you anything," Jack answered defiantly while Megatron frowned at his words.

"If that is your answer, then I'm afraid I'll have to use..._other measures _of persuasion. The energon prod Knock Out," said Megatron while Decepticon's Medic handed the Warlord the object and instantly stabbed the boy with it.

Jack forced himself not to cry out from the attack. His wounds already causing him pain and the prod was heightening them to a new level. When it stopped seconds later, it felt like hours, and left Jack panting heavily while blood left his mouth.

"Is that all you've got?" asked Jack at last before he was hit again by the energon prod and it last much longer this time.

"Foolish human. I'm just getting started in your torment. Make no mistake, I have every intention of making you suffer, and regret ever meeting the Autobots," replied Megatron, as he pulled the prod away, and saw the boy was trying to deny him the satisfaction of hearing his screams.

Even in his wounded condition the human boy fought to undermine the Decepticon's Will and power. Optimus had chosen wisely when it came to deciding on a temporary leader until his memories were returned. Strong, loyal, and not backing down from an enemy much stronger then himself. Megatron was almost impressed, but the sting to his pride at what the human had done recently kept that feeling at bay, and viciously swung the prod down on the boy repeatedly. He wanted to hear the boy scream and was not about to be denied that satisfaction simply because the boy was too stubborn to submit to his might!

"Lord Megatron stop! If you keep attacking the human like this, I won't be able to heal the boy long enough to get the information about the Autobot base out of him. I do not know much about human physiology just yet to sustain him if you break his body too soon!" exclaimed Knock Out and knew his leader had the tendency to take things out of hand too quickly.

Megatron must have realized this too, as he paused for a moment in thought before he swung the prod down on Jack one more time, and then began to look the boy over to see his handiwork had severely injured the human more then what was intended. The boy was bleeding heavily now from his torso, his arms were burned, and was trying to breathe after being hit by such nonstop abuse. Snarling at the inability to make the human cry out in pain, he shoved the energon prod into Knock Out's hands, and leaned in close to Jack's face.

"Make no mistake boy. You _will_ tell me everything I want to know. One way or another you will tell me the location of the Autobot base and even the location of Vector Sigma. Everyone has a breaking point Jack. I will find yours, I will reach it, and when I do...I will show no mercy," whispered Megatron before walking out of the room and left his Medic to patch up the boy as best he could.

"That could have gone better," replied Breakdown while Knock Out shrugged.

"It couldn't be helped Breakdown. Our stubborn human friend here has irked our leader the wrong way recently. Megatron doesn't like it when someone crosses him and lives long enough to tell the tale to others," said Knock Out, as he was running a scan over the boy, frowned when the computer detected something in the boy's crimson life-force, and took out a needle to extract a sample of it from the body.

He could have easily taken it from the table, but wanted an untainted sample, and show Megatron unquestionable results of any analysis done to the liquid. Letting the computer in front of him run the scan, Knock Out turned to the injured human on the table, and got out some surgical tools before approaching Jack. The Medic had to admit, the human had been pretty resilient so far when being patched up when first brought aboard the _Nemesis_ since no sedatives were used during the procedure to fix the boy's injuries. The broken leg was the only injury Knock Out had yet to fully repair, but that was to ensure there was no chance of the human escaping, which was unlikely, and yet this human was made what the others on the Decepticon Warship would consider a pseudo-Prime by the actual Prime himself.

And Knock Out wasn't going to take the risk of the human being successful with the ire of Megatron being redirected at him for letting it happen.

"It doesn't matter how many times you patch me up. I won't tell Megatron anything. I'll take what secrets I know to my grave," said Jack with Knock Out and Breakdown both smirking at him.

"Don't be too sure about that Jack. We've got a whole lot of tricks up our sleeve and even if we don't get information out of you...we can find another uses for you," replied Knock Out and began to _painfully_ repair the damage done to Jack's body on one side while his assistant watched.

All Jack could do say to that was nothing and let darkness take him from the amount of pain he was experiencing.

(_The Nemesis_-The Brig)

Airachnid was surprised to see Megatron visit her while she waited to be brought to him after the failed Coup. against the Warlord during that whole business with Unicron. She had honestly not anticipated failing in the attempt when Megatron had put her in charge of his Warship while he went to speak to the Bringer of Chaos himself and blamed the failed Coup. on Soundwave. The silent Decepticon had proven not he was not only loyal to Megatron without question, but was also an expert in the art of combat as he was in surveillance, and no doubt studied it by watching others fight around him.

"Lord Megatron I...," replied Airachnid, but the commanding hand for her to be silent made her end any pleas for mercy, or explanations to why she led the Coup. against the Warlord.

"Spare me your excuses Airachnid. They do not suit someone like yourself. I came here to inform you of a development that has occurred since your detainment," said Megatron with the black purple femme looking at him in surprise while Soundwave stood behind the Decepticon Warlord.

"A development my Lord?" asked Airachnid with Megatron nodding.

"Soundwave is very good at surveillance as you are well aware and he has informed me of your past history with our new guest on board my Warship," answered Megatron, as he turned to Soundwave, and the silent Decepticon showed a picture of the three children in it when he had taken a picture before zooming in on the tallest of the three.

"My Jack!" exclaimed Airachnid hungrily and was practically salivating by this point.

"Yes. Your..._Jack_ went to Cybertron and found Vector Sigma. He was able to come back and restore Optimus Prime's memories," stated Megatron while seeing Airachnid clearly becoming impressed by the human boy's actions.

"Really? Jack has finally decided to man up it seems. Who knew he had a pair," replied Airachnid while grinning evilly.

"Apparently he has since he was successful. However, I was able to injure, and capture him before taking the boy to Medlab for..._treatment_ under Knock Out's watchful optics," said Megatron and saw Airachnid didn't like that one bit.

"That pompous moron has my Jack?!" Airachnid stated furiously since she was the only one aside from Megatron worthy to tear into the human boy's flesh.

"As I stated moments ago, the human boy was injured, and needed to be healed to some degree in order to ensure his life expectancy didn't abruptly end. The human has several crucial secrets inside his head and refuses to share them with me Airachnid. Not only does he know the location of the Autobot Base, _BUT_ your _Jack_ also knows the precise location of _Vector Sigma_, and I want to know its precise location for future reference. I am going to put _you_ in charge of..._extracting_ those two locations out of our guest currently recovering in Medlab!" replied Megatron while Airachnid grinned further at this news.

"Of course Lord Megatron. As you know, my Jack has crossed me too, and the two of us have unfinished business that needs to be addressed," stated Airachnid knowing Arcee was going insane right about now.

She would enjoy sending something of Jack to his Mother so the woman could give it to the Autobots so they would wallow in despair.

"I'm well aware of your history with the human boy. Soundwave sees everything for me whether you know it or not. However, I want the boy to stay alive, and failure to comply with my order will result in your _own_ termination. Do you understand me Airachnid?" said Megatron with the femme nodding since she knew Jack's value being alive was higher then her own.

"Of course Lord Megatron. I will handle Jack with the utmost..._care_!" replied Airachnid with her eyes gleaming with ideas on how to make her Jack suffer.

"Good. Soundwave, you will be there to record the boy's reactions to Airachnid _care_ for my amusement, _and_ so I can deliver to Prime something of Jack when we have our next encounter," Megatron stated to his most loyal Lieutenant, who gave a silent nod, and the three of them left the Brig.

(Autobot Base)

No one had gotten much sleep or recharging done after what happened with Jack being taken by the Decepticon Warlord. Ratchet had the coordinates for the location that the Ground Bridge had been used to bring them back to base and scanned the entire area around it for human life signs in the hope Jack was there.

Sadly his life signs did not show up on the scans, which meant the boy had perished from his injuries sustained at the hands of Megatron, or...the villain had taken Jack back to his Warship.

The Autobots felt guilt run through their processors knowing this was not something they wished to happen to any of their human charges. They had done everything in their power to make sure it didn't happen, fighting with everything they had, and then some to ensure the Decepticons were able to unleash their fury on them. Now the one time they asked a human to do something of the utmost importance, they failed to stop the possibility from happening, and shortly after the mission was a success. Optimus himself felt the most guilt, as he had entrusted Jack with the Key to Vector Sigma, and going to Cybertron in order to reach the ancient location that held the collective wisdom of the Thirteen Primes. He knew Jack could handle it. The Prime could see so much of himself before and after being made a Prime in the boy that there was no one else to trust with such a task. While the other Autobots under his command were also worthy, they all had their faults that would only result in the mission being a failure, and Megatron winning in this war.

Of all the humans among their ranks, Jack was the only one Optimus could entrust with the Key to Vector Sigma because the boy knew what it meant to be responsible, and had matured faster then most did at his age. Miko was too wild, immature to be handed such a responsibility, and always acted without thinking of the consequences. Rafael, who was clearly more responsible then the young human femme, was sadly too young, and unsure of himself to be given the Key. Fowler was a patriot of his country's government, but if given the order by that government to hand over the Key to Vector Sigma upon it being known, the man would hand it over, and the Autobots would _never _see it again. Even Jack's Mother June Darby was to qualified to hold the Key to Vector Sigma, as she was against being involved from the start, and clearly wished to shelter the children from the dangers of the world. She treated each child like they were made of glass or too immature to handle things on their own. Optimus didn't know how the woman would react if he had given her the Key, but the Autobot Leader suspected June wouldn't be able to handle the horrors still residing on Cybertron long after it went dark.

Out of everyone among the ranks of both Autobot and human...only Jack was worthy to hold the Key to Vector Sigma and could be entrusted to carry out the secret mission once Unicron was defeated.

And now the boy was paying for it. Paying agonizing pain, the spilling of his own blood, and eventually..._death_!

"At best Optimus, we know that Jack is alive, though for how long is unknown, but we can safely assume Megatron won't end his life so soon upon being captured," stated a concerned Ratchet with Optimus nodding.

"As much as I would wish to find comfort in Jack being alive, the horrors he is no doubt facing now, or soon enough will most likely be worse then death itself. Keep scanning for Megatron's Warship. With any luck, we can find it before boarding, and freeing Jack from Decepticon hands," replied Optimus while Ratchet could only nod and trying to find the Warship.

The sooner the better.

"This is serious Prime. I know you don't want further human involvement, but...I have to let my superiors know of the situation regarding Jack, and how he's become a POW in this battle with the Decepticons," stated Fowler while glancing at a still asleep June, who was now tossing, and turning slightly on the gurney with sweat running down her face.

She was no doubt having a nightmare.

"As much as I would wish for assistance on this matter Agent Fowler, the Decepticons will not hesitate to capture, or kill more humans that they encounter. Its bad enough that Jack has become a casualty of the former and I could not stand to see either possibility multiply from there," replied Optimus with Fowler frowning at him.

"And how do you plan to solve this problem? How do you plan to save Jack? Right now he's probably being ripped to pieces by Megatron or that other one with the spidery legs," countered Fowler before turning to see Arcee shaking with fury.

"Don't you think we know that! The vey idea of Jack being in her clutches fills me with so much anger I just want to destroy every Con that stands in my way!" exclaimed Arcee while picturing Airachnid ripping Jack to pieces while laughing at her failure to protect yet another partner.

"We will do everything in our power to rescue Jack from Megatron and Airachnid before they can cause permanent harm to him Arcee," stated Optimus with Arcee looking up at him and it was clear she wanted to believe him like she had so many times before in the past.

But for some reason...part of her doubted his words of assurance and dreaded the day they saw Jack again.

(_The Nemesis_-Medlab)

"Hello Jack. Happy to see me again?" asked Airachnid while leaning in close to inspect her Jack and see his body was indeed not one hundred percent.

"You're as much fun to see as an army of infesting Scraplets," replied Jack sarcastically while the spidery femme among the Decepticons chuckled and saw Knock Out look at him in shock that he even knew what a Scraplet even was!

"Someone has told you a bit about Cybertron it seems. Was it Optimus? Bulkhead? Or maybe it was _Arcee_!" replied Airachnid while running a clawed finger delicately along his face.

"I witnessed them go into a feeding frenzy while on Cybertron. It was actually amusing to see one of the few remaining Decepticons on the planet get torn apart by them," replied Jack with a smile on his face, but it was removed when Airachnid stabbed his shoulder with one of her fingers, and hissed right into his ear.

"While I have no love for any fellow Decepticon here on this ship or back on Cybertron, I don't exactly like it when someone else takes joy from it either, and I tend to get _violent_!" stated Airachnid while keeping her optics locked onto Jack's face to see him trying to fight back the pain.

"I've...noticed!" Jack shot back despite the pain.

"Megatron has entrusted me in locating the Autobot base through you and the location of Vector Sigma on Cybertron. If you value your life, even a little bit Jack, you would play it smart, and tell me where the location of each one is before I resort to _other_ measures of asking. None of which are nice," replied Airachnid while taking her clawed finger out of his shoulder and licked the crimson liquid off of it with her metallic tongue all the while humming slightly in a twisted sense of pleasure.

"Even if I did tell you...I have the strangest feeling I'll still be tortured no matter what I say. Am I wrong?" Jack asked and Airachnid thought about it while Knock Out smirked.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not! It would all depend on Megatron and his desire to be merciful. At the very least, he would give you a quick death, and let me have your head mounted on my wall as a trophy," replied Airachnid with Jack scowling at her.

"That's not much incentive to tell you, Knock Out, or Megatron anything," Jack retorted and Airachnid smirked at him.

"I know. Which means this makes my job all the more enjoyable Jack. I get to make you scream, cry, bleed, and eventually break in every manner of the word. After I've finished slicing into your body, Knock Out is going to patch you up, and after a small reprieve...I get to start all over again!" Airachnid replied with a sense of happiness showing on her face and was heard in her voice.

"Then go for it! Like I told Megatron when he first captured me...do your worst! You won't get anything out of me!" Jack proclaimed defiantly while staring right into the femme's optics.

"Well...since you _asked_ me so _nicely_ Jack...who am I to deny your surprising request?!" asked Airachnid sadistically while Knock Out sighed and mumbled something about having his assistant clean up the mess she made with the human.

All the while Soundwave stood watch, recording Airachnid's actions towards Jack, and his struggles to resist the torture the femme Decepticon was unleashing on him.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge-Sometime Later)

"Lord Megatron!" called out Knock Out with the Decepticon Warlord looking out at the deep blackness of space.

"Yes Knock Out. What is it? Has Airachnid already disobeyed me and killed the human I told her to interrogate already?" asked Megatron seeing the Decepticon Medic walking towards him.

"No Lord Megatron. I've actually come here to inform you of something I've just recently discovered when running some tests on the blood from our..._guest_," explained Knock Out with Megatron looking at him with a raised metallic eyebrow.

"Oh! You've discovered something?" asked Megatron curiously.

"Yes. It appears that the boy is not so ordinary like we first assumed," replied Knock Out and began inputting the data on the main screen for Megatron to see for himself.

"In what way Knock Out?" Megatron questioned with Knock Out putting what he had seen on the main screen so the Decepticon Warlord could see for himself.

"Our young human prisoner has _Nanomachines_ inside of him Lord Megatron. Not just _any_ Nanomachines either. He has _techno-organic_ Nanomachines," stated Knock Out, as he showed Megatron his findings, and the Lord of all Decepticons was indeed finding this to be impressive.

"It appears young Jack has been hiding something from us aside from the two important secrets I desire. Oh that is most unwise young Jack. Now I have to make Airachnid try even _harder _to make you tell me everything," replied Megatron while grinning at this newest development.

"And here is the kicker. They were activated _recently_!" exclaimed Knock Out and saw Megatron was becoming intrigued further by this news.

"Continue to monitor the boy Knock Out. Run whatever tests you need once Airachnid is done with 'her Jack' for the day and have her report to me for possible changes in orders," commanded Megatron with the Medic nodding and was clearly pleased with himself in finding this for the Decepticon Leader.

'This boy is something else. I wonder if the Autobots know about this. Though I highly doubt it,' thought Knock Out smugly and would enjoy rubbing it in their faces the next time they met.

It was only fair that they know all the gory details of the boy's suffering after all.

(A/N: YAY! A new fic for all of you to enjoy. I know. I know. I should try focusing on my older fics, but I had this itch that needed to be scratched, and if I didn't it would drive me nuts like you wouldn't believe. Anyway, I hope this first chapter was to your liking, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Until next time...PEACE!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Mental Excavation

Megatron looked over the team digging for the lost Iakon relic Orion Pax had decrypted for him before the naive Cybertronian left his employment. For once since his arrival on this planet, the Decepticon Warlord felt things were _finally_ starting to go his way. The human prisoner was suffering at the hands of Airachnid, Optimus along with the other Autobots were no doubt troubled with guilt over the loss, and Cybertronian Technology would soon be in his hands.

"Careful with the artifact you fools. I will not have my prize damaged due to your own incompetence!" exclaimed Megatron to the trio of Veichons pulling out the jar containing the artifact.

Walking over to the jar, Megatron reached into it, and pulled out the item that had been locked away for centuries during the Great War on Cybertron had been fought. It was then he heard the sound of an energy cannon charging behind him and turned slightly to see Optimus Prime with Autobot Medic Ratchet. It was quite clear there was something different in the Autobot Leader now since the last time they met and it peaked Megatron's interest.

"Step away from the artifact Megatron...or be destroyed," declared Optimus Prime while the Veichons had their own weapons raised.

"Its a little too late to make demands of me Optimus. Considering what I now hold in my hands, it would be unwise to open fire, and possibly kill us all," replied Megatron before he revealed the item in his hand.

"Optimus!" exclaimed Ratchet when seeing the artifact in Megatron's hands.

"The Spark Extractor," stated Optimus in recognition in seeing the device.

"Correct Optimus. Its actually a shame you abandoned the Decepticon cause. Or rather I should say _Orion Pax_ left the cause. He was a most valuable asset while serving under me when he decoded multiple coordinates to several artifacts like this one. Had he not left my service, I would have made him a high ranking officer, and a possible Second-in-Command," stated Megatron while seeing Optimus Prime's optics narrow at him.

"Lies and deceit! Orion Pax would _never _have willfully joined your ranks the moment the cold hard truth about the Decepticon cause was made known to him. Something I believe was proven correct considering Optimus is your enemy once again!" exclaimed Ratchet and saw Megatron send him a small glare for that last remark before turning his attention to the Autobot Leader.

"Regardless, I may have lost my Iakon Clerk, even my chance to extinguish the legacy of the Primes, but I got something just as surprisingly valuable, and interesting onboard my Warship. Or rather I should say..._someone_!" countered Megatron with a grin on his face.

"Jack," whispered Optimus, but Megatron heard his words nonetheless, and it made the ruthless Warlord grin further.

"Correct Optimus. I must say this for you, the boy would have made a great Prime if he were an Autobot. I see so much of him in you before _and _after you were made what you are now. Airachnid has been trying to get information out of him for quite some time and had been met with repeated failure on her part no matter how hard she tries. I don't need to tell you just how good Airachnid is in her work and even more so when she's _enjoying_ herself," answered Megatron with a chuckle and saw Optimus getting angrier with each passing second.

"Release him. Now!" commanded Optimus and Megatron just laughed at him.

"Release him? Now why would I want to do that Optimus? I've actually grown fond of the human. His constant defiance of me is actually quite..._uplifting_! _Refreshing_ even. Airachnid has also grown quite fond of young Jack too and it would just seem..._wrong_ to separate the two from one another," replied Megatron with his grin becoming more sinister.

Having enough of Megatron's Spark hitting words, Optimus opened fire on the Veichons around the Decepticon Warlord, and the battle quickly escalated from there. Throughout the chaos erupting around them, a Ground Bridge for Megatron opened up for him, and its leader walked through to head for the Warship. However, as he did so with his prize in hand, Megatron found himself blindsided by the Autobot Scout Bumblebee in his vehicle mode, and stole the Spark Extractor. Enraged by this sudden unexpected attack by the Autobot Scout, the Warlord of the Decepticons charged back out of the Ground Bridge, but found his forces had been decimated, and the Autobots themselves no longer there.

The former gladiator of Kaon let out a roar of anger that echoed for miles.

(Autobot Base)

It was a victory for the Autobots. Plain and simple. Though it was not the victory they wanted at the moment. The one they wanted was to rescue Jack from Megatron's Warship and from the horrible torture he was undergoing at Airachnid's sadistic hands. Arcee was not happy to hear from Optimus that Megatron boasting about Jack suffering under the Spider Bot's not so gentle care. It was an unsettling revelation and it was worse when Ratchet pointed out that Jack would possibly face the brunt of Megatron's wrath for their victory.

"Optimus, the reason why we were able to locate the Spark Extractor so quickly was due to the homing beacon attached to it. No doubt a precautionary measure after it was sent away when Megatron had his forces raid Iakon for the many artifacts locked away in the Iakon Vault," explained Ratchet with Optimus nodding in agreement.

"Do you remember anything from your time on the _Nemesis_? Anything about any other potential artifacts you decoded as Orion Pax?" asked Arcee with Optimus shaking his head no.

"My time as Orion Pax on the _Nemesis_ is unknown to me. If I did decode more then one set of coordinates of Iakon artifacts, only Megatron would know, and there has always been a sliver of truth in his lies," replied Optimus with Ratchet shaking his head.

"Optimus, we both know Megatron would only say such a thing to you in order to mess with your psyche. Adding Jack into the equation was bonus to him and a jab at our own morale," countered Ratchet while Optimus looking unconvinced by his words.

"Perhaps, but we should keep watch for any Decepticon activity related to these artifacts, and ensure no other potential weapons fall into their hands," declared Optimus with the others nodding.

"But what about Jack?" asked Raf knowing that was still an issue they had yet to resolve.

"Yeah. Like Ratchet mentioned earlier, Megatron is going to take out his anger on Jack, and the Con clearly has no restraint in that department," Miko added and saw the Bots wince at her words bring a cold hard truth to the front of the processors.

With every victory over the Decepticons they achieved from here on out...Jack would be punished for it.

"We cannot help Jack at the moment in time. Sadly, we must wait for the opportunity to arise, and until then...our dear friend must suffer at the hands of the Decepticons," stated Optimus and everyone knew that while they didn't like such a decision...they could do little to argue over it.

"Jack. My baby. Come back to me. Please!" whispered June from her gurney while tears left he corners of her eyes.

"She's been like this for awhile now. Not that I blame her," replied Arcee when they all turned to see June still out of it.

"Her offspring is in the hands of the enemy that will not hesitate to destroy him for siding with us in this war. I know humans can be emotional creatures, but for this woman to be this way while asleep is not something I expected," replied Ratchet with this proving he had yet to understand humans and the way they acted.

"She is the boy's femme sire Ratchet. She brought him into the world and does not wish to see him suffer," explained Optimus and saw Ratchet nod.

"There's more to it then that Optimus. From the way June mentioned Jack's Father when we talked once while you were still off on a scouting mission with Bumblebee. There was..._something_ in her voice when she mentioned him. In any case, we can't let Jack suffer, or die for our actions against the Decepticons," stated Arcee and everyone was in full agreement.

"Which is why we will do everything in our power to ensure Jack is spared further pain if given the chance," stated Optimus with the group nodding.

(_The Nemesis_)

Megatron was in a foul mood when he came back on board his ship. The others sensed it the moment his metallic feet touched the metallic floor. Heading straight for the Medlab, Megatron entered the room to see Jack being patched up by Knock Out, and Soundwave standing there like a motionless statue.

"Ah! Lord Megatron, how did the mission go?" asked Knock Out and regretted saying the question when he saw the snarl on the Warlord's face.

"It ended failure thanks to Prime's trusted _Scout_. I regret not removing more then the little Bee's voice box right from his throat when I had the chance back on Cybertron! Though I will not make that same mistake again should the opportunity to do so arises in the near future," answered Megatron while walking over to Jack and leaning down to look the boy right in the eyes while Knock Out backed away.

"It seems things aren't going your way like you thought they would," remarked Jack with Megatron narrowing his eyes at him.

"You find it amusing that I've lost an important battle against Optimus, don't you Jack?," asked Megatron with Jack's body looking more damaged then when he last saw him.

No doubt thanks to Airachnid.

"Considering your side is losing? Absolutely!" answered Jack before letting out a small cry of pain when Megatron put one of his clawed fingers on one of Jack's still opened wounds with the pressure making the pain in that area shoot upward.

"You won't for long. For every victory the Autobots gain, I will ensure _our_ _pain_ from the defeat becomes _your pain_ Jack, and I will make you see how the Autobots winning is not very good for _your_ _health_," replied Megatron before his snarl turned into an evil grin.

"Anything you can dish out...I can take!" Jack countered defiantly at the Leader of the Decepticons.

"Good. Because I have every intention of taking all the pain I would normally dish out to my forces for failing me..._out on you_!" Megatron shot back with angry and joy at the idea clear in his voice while the two stared at each other.

A beeping noise from Soundwave broke the staring contest and Megatron turned to face his top Lieutenant to see he was telling him about two other coordinates where the other Iakon artifacts were located. Narrowing his optics, the Lord of all the Decepticons looked at each one, and then turned to see Jack on the table with his grin increasing.

'I don't like how he's smiling,' thought Jack while turning his head to see Knock Out now moving towards him to do more of his..._patch job_.

"Knock Out! Finish treating the boy. You and Breakdown will be heading to the next set of coordinates to find the next Iakon relic. I want this one in my possession and will not tolerate failure simply because I'll be directing it at the human in the event that happens," commanded Megatron and the two Decepticons nodded.

"Yes Lord Megatron!" answered Knock Out and Breakdown at the same time while the Decepticon Warlord began leaving the room.

"Um...not to question your command my Lord, but uh...the human's interrogation, and Airachnid uh...," replied Breakdown with Megatron pausing to look at him before his optics went to the badly injured human.

"Airachnid will have to wait until your return. Depending on the outcome of your mission to retrieve the relic...she may just get his head for a trophy sooner then later," answered Megatron before leaving with Soundwave in tow.

"If I were you boy, I'd pray that we're successful," Knock Out remarked and went to work on fixing the more damaging injuries Airachnid had unleash on the boy earlier on.

'Optimus. Arcee. Someone...help me!' thought Jack while letting out multiple sounds of him fighting the pain he felt from his so called _Doctor_.

While this was happening to Jack, the Decepticon Leader was in another lab a few doors down with Soundwave, and was looking over the data Knock Out had collected. These techno-organic Nanomachines were truly remarkable to see with his optics, as he saw they weren't some pitiful human creation, but strangely enough the technological part had _Cybertonian_ markings on them, and that was what puzzled him the most. How did the boy get such things in his system to begin with? Nanomachines when properly adjusted to a certain specification could be used on organics if programmed to bond with such creatures. Megatron wasn't an idiot, as he had created a Cybonic Plague himself, and the idea of using Nanomachines for the field had intrigued him at first. The only reason he didn't was for the fact the Nanomachines couldn't be properly controlled if they were to malfunction and there was no potential cure for them if "infected" by any if they got into the system. At least when he did the Cybonic Plague there was cure to be used in the event the disease ever came in contact with himself.

Nanomachines had that low yet still dangerous risk factor of turning on its creator if they were manipulated the wrong way by even the slightest oversight. But for these _techno-organic_ Nanomachines from Jack's blood, things were different since they were bonded to the host body with their organic nature, meant to ensure the body they lived in was able to survive harsh treatment, and even protect it from unwanted intrusions into the body that would weaken it.

Now the only question aside from how did Jack possess it? But also how could he use it to his advantage? The boy would resist with all his being. His mind was no doubt attuned to these Nanomachines on a subconscious level and wouldn't be tampered with simply because he told Jack to obey. Another problem was the boy's defiance in giving him the information he wanted and suspected Jack would fight to the end to deny the Decepticon Leader what he wanted.

Unless...

"Soundwave. Access what the humans call 'Internet' and find out everything you can about the human body down to the slightest detail. After you do that, focus on their brains, and when Knock Out returns...inform him I want his expert opinion on what I have in mind for our prisoner," commanded Megatron with Soundwave nodding and left the room to head for another terminal to access such information.

(Sometime Later)

Jack had lost all track of time since his last torture session with Airachnid, followed by Megatron's last visit, and the last time Knock Out had patched him up. His body ached and hurt all over while the boy's mind screamed at him to do something before things got even worse. But what could he do? His one broken leg had yet to be fixed though for some reason, Jack felt it was doing that on its own if a bit slowly and hopefully unnoticed by Knock Out or Breakdown when they were in the room. Soundwave had been there the whole time since Airachnid went to work on him and being the observant Con that he was _might_ have noticed something. Then again, the Con would have informed Airachnid, Knock Out, Breakdown, or Megatron of such a thing since Soundwave was known for seeing just about everything on this Warship.

Looking around, Jack noticed neither his "Doctors", or his interrogator were in the room while guessing Soundwave was elsewhere. He recalled how Megatron ordered Knock Out and Breakdown to leave for another relic that needed to be retrieved. Airachnid was no doubt thinking up some new way to hurt him like she did with all her other sessions. She wanted to know the location of the Autobot base and the location of Vector Sigma so Megatron could know those two to secure ultimate victory over Optimus Prime as well as the legacy of the Primes in general.

But Jack wouldn't tell them. He would rather die!

'Knowing Mom, she would say 'Jackson Darby, you will not be dying anytime soon! I forbid it!', and give me that look I know all too well,' thought Jack while wondering how the others would react to his situation.

Arcee was no doubt going crazy. Any Con that crossed her was headed for the junkyard no question. Raf was worried for him since the two were like brothers with the big one always watching over the little one until the little one became strong enough to fend for himself. Miko...Miko would not doubt be worried, but she tended to hide such things, and keep things upbeat regardless of the situation so the others wouldn't get so down over the situation. She wouldn't do it to be cruel to him personally, but to keep the morale of the others afloat, and make sure they stayed the course. Fowler was a wild card since he only met the man a few times since becoming involved with the Autobots and just hoped the government agent didn't tell his superiors too much that it would start a World War with the Decepticons. Bulkhead was no doubt worried about him simply because it concerned Miko and pictured the girl in his place. Bumblebee was probably the same way since the Autobot Scout was close to Raf and the near death experience at the hands of Megatron was still fresh in Cybertronian's mind.

He didn't know what Ratchet was thinking. The Autobot Medic didn't really have much praise for the human race as a species having much potential in helping given how tiny and fragile they were when compared to Cybertronians. Still, Ratchet had begun to warm up to him, Miko, and Raf during the whole business with Unicron. The Medic was a bit rough around the edges so it was hard to say, but Jack was almost certain the old Doc Bot was worried, and wanted to save him from Megatron's wrath.

As for Optimus Prime...

Jack didn't know how the Prime felt about this. On the one hand, he knew Optimus was someone in control of his emotions, who always looked before leaping, and making the necessary calculations to each action. On the other, the Prime had to feel _something_ in regards to this situation with Jack being interrogated by Airachnid on Megatron's orders, and wondered if the Autobot Leader felt any guilt over this. Jack hoped he didn't since it wasn't his fault! Jack knew the risks and didn't want Optimus to feel like this could have been avoided if he didn't put the Key to Vector Sigma in the hands of a simple human boy.

Jack's thoughts on the matter left him when Megatron entered Medlab, his glowing red optics focused entirely on his form, and it was clear the Decepticon Leader was studying him. The Warlord walked over to the boy, circling his table, and it was making Jack a bit nervous though he was doing his best to keep it from him.

"You should feel fortunate right now Jack. Do you know why?" asked Megatron with Jack frowning in thought.

"Because...you're going to let me go back to the Autobots no strings attached?" asked Jack with a hint of sarcasm though the Decepticon Leader just laughed since he was in too good a mood to lash out.

"Your humor isn't that bad for a human, but no. Your Autobot friends failed to capture the second relic from Knock Out and Breakdown so my mood has improved since the last time we spoke," replied Megatron while picking up the energon prod and began to study it now as if contemplating something.

"I see. So...your not in a pain giving mood right now," Jack said and got an energon prod to his torso in response.

"Not quite. I'm still in the mood to hurt you Jack. I'm just not going to do it as much since I have my new relic and will soon be in possession of another one," replied Megatron, as he stabbed Jack several times with the energon prod, and saw the human was breathing heavily with his head down.

"You want something else from me. You wouldn't be here gloating unless there was more to it then that," said Jack and heard Megatron chuckle before looking back up to see the metallic titan.

"I see your mind is sharp after all the abuse your body has gone through Jack. Its actually impressive. Those Nanomachines inside your body serve you well," Megatron said while studying Jack's facial expressions and sure enough...the boy was shocked to hear him say that.

"Nanomachines? When did you put Nanomachines into my body?!" asked Jack with Megatron scoffing at him.

"As if I would waste such technological wonders on your organic body. I did not order Nanomachines to be put in you Jack. Nor did anyone else for that matter on my ship," answered Megatron with Jack frowning in thought.

"Say I believe you. If what you are saying is true and that's a big 'IF' given your habit for lying, if you didn't put them in me then...who did?" questioned Jack and it was clear even Megatron didn't know since he was curious about it too.

"I don't know. But given the nature of these Nanomachines, you've had them since you were born, and given your own reaction...you don't know either," replied Megatron while seeing Jack shake his head no.

"I wouldn't know how. Wait! What did you mean by the nature of these Nanomachines? What kind of Nanomachines are they?" asked Jack seeing Megatron put down the prod before turning to look at him right in the eyes.

"Techno-organic," replied Megatron and saw Jack was stunned by this news.

"Techno-organic? But that's...impossible!" said Jack in disbelief while Megatron let out a small chuckle.

"Apparently not. Though you should see this in a more positive light boy. My curiosity and your general value to me has just increased," Megatron remarked while Jack glared at him.

"Don't I feel special," Jack remarked sarcastically while Megatron merely smiled at him.

"Rest assured boy...you are more special right now then anyone other human living on this mud ball for a planet. I suggest you enjoy this while you can," replied Megatron and left the Medlab while Jack began to mentally digest this information.

'Nanomachines? _Techno-organic_ Nanomachines? This is insane. How the Hell did this happen to me?' thought Jack with a sigh leaving his mouth and closed his eyes for what seemed like minutes before opening them.

And come eyeball to optics with Airachnid.

"Hello Jack," replied Airachnid in a sweet voice that held none of the actual sweetness in it.

"Airachnid," Jack replied since he didn't know what to say to her.

"I heard Megatron visit you earlier," said Airachnid and it was clear she was fishing for an answer to an unspoken question.

"He did. Megatron came to gloat over how he got another relic and was able to keep it this time around," answered Jack truthfully while keeping the information about how he had techno-organic Nanomachines in his body out of this conversation.

"That's it? Nothing _else_?!" asked Airachnid and Jack was eyeing the femme carefully.

"Nothing comes to mind," answered Jack before he felt two of her clawed fingers touch both his temples and looked him right in the eyes.

"Don't lie to me Jack. I don't like being lied to by anyone. We both know Knock Out and Breakdown won't be back for quite awhile," threatened Airachnid and saw Jack wince from the pressure she was putting on his skull.

"Megatron wouldn't like you disobeying him Airachnid. You really want to put my health at risk simply because I didn't tell you things right off the bat. Where is the challenge if I did?" Jack countered with Airachnid's optics narrowing at him and her heard her hissing slightly.

"Unfortunately, you have a very strong point Jack. While I would like nothing more then to disobey Lord Megatron, it would not be in my best interest to that. _SO_ with that said, I will just have to wait to tear open your flesh again, and maybe even send something of yours to June so she knows you're in my loving care," replied Airachnid and saw Jack stiffen at the mention of his Mother.

"Don't you bring her into this," Jack nearly yelled at her and it made the Spider Bot laugh in amusement.

"I wouldn't dream of it Jack. She's no fun to interrogate. My presence alone would make her crumble. Even if I wanted to go after her, we both know the Autobots are going to keep a watchful eye on her, and their other human charges to ensure there is no repeat performance of capturing any potential prisoners for information. Personally, I don't want any other human to torment since you are by far my favorite human of all to unleash my fury on," replied Airachnid while running her clawed fingers down his scarred torso and relished how Jack winced in pain.

"I'm the only human you've unleashed your fury on," replied Jack while Airachnid got less then an inch from his face and let out what sounded like...a giggle?

"Don't be so naive Jack. Do you really think I would pass up the opportunity to go after humans after we first met? I wanted to compare you to the other humans of this world and let's just say you are a much bigger catch then some of the other humans I've had the..._pleasure_ of meeting while on this rock," replied Airachnid into his ear and Jack shuddered slightly at the _extremely_ close proximity the femme was to him.

"Fracking bit-AAAH!" Jack exclaimed when Airachnid suddenly bit his shoulder and began to lick the wound.

"Language Jack. You are in the presence of a lady," said Airachnid while seeing her bite mark was leaving a scar on his shoulder and smiled at the sight of its manifestation.

"You're no lady," countered Jack winced when one of Airachnid's clawed fingers dig into his cheek.

"That's mean Jack. What would your Mother say?" Airachnid shock back while looking right into Jack's now infuriated eyes.

"I think she'd be in full agreement all things considered," replied Jack with Airachnid still smiling down at him.

"Yes. I think she would make an exception to your usually polite behavior when it comes to the opposite gender," said Airachnid in agreement since she could picture June being the responsible parent raising their child to be equally responsible.

The banter between them would have continued had it not been for the appearance of two beaten and battered Decepticons Medics responsible for Jack's health when Airachnid wasn't trying to cause its decline. The look on their face showed they were not happy at being smacked around from their fight with the Autobots and no doubt got chewed out by Megatron too since they entered Medlab in a bit of a rush to avoid any further yelling from the Decepticon Warlord.

"We're lucky he let us live," remarked Breakdown with Knock Out agreeing since the one relic they successfully recovered was destroyed when fighting the Autobots when using it to get the next relic.

"Its bad enough those Autobots ruined my finish, but we've lost a relic, and the other one we acquired doesn't work unless you happen to be a Prime!" exclaimed Knock Out and it was by that point the two noticed Airachnid hovering over Jack.

"Bad day?" asked Airachnid while the two glared at her.

"Leave Airachnid. We need to repair ourselves before doing some work for Megatron so you can't rip the human's flesh for a little while longer," replied Breakdown to the Spider Bot and Airachnid had a scorned look on her face before she decided to leave.

"Fine. The presence of you two morons was killing the mood to hurt him anyway. See you around Jack," replied Airachnid while giving the human a wink before sauntering off.

"Why do I get the feeling she's going to be the death of me?" asked Breakdown with his partner in the lab shrugging.

"How should I know?! Help patch me up so I can get to work on you and then we can focus on the human since Airachnid left a few more marks for us to fix. Megatron wants to try something out on him and wants Jack here to be in good health when he tries it," replied Knock Out with Breakdown grinning.

"A cube of energon says the kid dies during the experiment," said Breakdown with Jack glaring at him and Knock Out grinning.

"I'll take that bet _and_ I'll wager _two_ energon cubes he survives whatever Lord Megatron has planned," replied Knock Out with Breakdown looking at Jack and then back to him.

"You know something I don't?" asked Breakdown since he really didn't think the human would survive the experiment.

After all, that human femme who apparently hangs around Bulkhead all the time didn't really look like much to him at first glance so he figured the male of the species was just a pathetic despite the beating taken at Airachnid's hands.

"Only that this human's got Lady Luck on her side when it comes to gambling with his life," was Knock Out's response, but in truth he knew that Jack would live because the process wouldn't kill the human like Breakdown thought it would.

Though the boy would wish for death when they got through with him.

"He'd have to be when it comes to Airachnid," replied Breakdown since the Spider Bot was always acting weird when it came to the human.

Some points Airachnid wanted to kill Jack with a single strike of her spidery appendages and other times...it looked like she wanted to _kiss_ him!

"No argument there. Hey! Watch the finish!" exclaimed Knock Out while his assistant tried to work on his right arm.

(Autobot Base)

The morale within the Autobot Base had shifted up and down at a noticeably from what it had been since retrieving the Spark Extractor from Megatron. M.E.C.H. Agents had taken Bumblebee's T-Cog, which was needed by every Cybertronian in order to transform into an alt. vehicle mode, and were planning something sinister with it. Even worse, another relic had soon been uncovered by the Decepticons, and they got away with it thanks to the Autobot Scout being unable to pursue Knock Out while Bulkhead was dealing with Breakdown. Later on, Fowler contact the base to inform Optimus (who wasn't there) of where the M.E.C.H. base was located, and told it to Bumblebee in the belief the Autobot would tell his leader.

Which he didn't.

Acting irrationally since losing his T-Cog, Bumblebee attacked the base, severely injured the M.E.C.H. agents (though Silas got away), and confronted their rogue Decepticon for an ally that was Starscream. To make a long story short, Bumblebee was able to get his T-Cog back though it was slightly damaged, but Ratchet wasn't a skilled Medic of their group for nothing, and after fearful first failed attempt was able transform much to the delight of the others.

Well..._almost_ everyone.

While Arcee was glad the Autobot Scout was back to transforming and racing again like before...she personally missed her own partner. Jack's Mother had woken up from her nightmare not that long ago, looking around for her only son, and praying what she had just experienced not that long ago was a horrible nightmare created from the craziness of being around the Autobots. Sadly, when June looked up at Arcee for confirmation that it was all just a bad dream, her hopes were dashed, and the woman fell to her knees in tears.

By that point, Fowler had come by to rip Prime, and Bumblebee a new one for what not being put in the loop about base M.E.C.H. was located in being trashed. However, when he saw June on the ground crying, his voice box seemed to shutdown, and decided to help the poor woman to her feet before deciding it was best to take her somewhere safe. Her home was out of the question since Airachnid and M.E.C.H. knew where she lived so there was always a chance she could be made a target. Especially if Jack proved to be too much for a hassle and Megatron wanted a faster method to make Jack cooperate by going after his Mother. At best, Fowler could pull some strings to put June in a safe house setup to protect witnesses, or important high profile people for a time until things cooled down to relocate them to a more permanent location. Only himself, the kids, and the Autobots would know of its location so if it became compromised somehow they could Ground Bridger the woman back to base.

'Look at them. Their cheering for Bumblebee being finally able to drive around again with his T-Cog while my partner is stuck on a Decepticon Warship with the Leader of them all and a psychotic Spider intent on hurting everyone I care about,' thought Arcee while she wished Jack was here, with her right now, and they would be driving through the Nevada desert.

"Arcee," came Optimus's voice and it brought her back to the real world.

"Yes?" replied Arcee and saw her leader looking down at her with his piercing blue optics.

"I know what it is that troubles you and I feel the same way," answered Optimus and the blue femme shook her head.

"No offense Optimus, but you don't know what it is that's troubling me. My partner has been captured by the enemy, is at the mercy of Airachnid, and Megatron along with every other Decepticon on his Warship. I was put in charge of Jack's safety when we went off to Cybertron to locate Vector Sigma. I nearly failed him there too when I was fighting an Insecticon that was still stationed there! If it hadn't been for the Scraplets he told me had come out of nowhere to chew on Vector Sigma, the Insecticon would have gotten him, and the mission would have been a failure. Maybe Airachnid was right. Maybe I should question on whether its them or me when it comes to losing partners," replied Arcee and felt a strong hand on her shoulder to see Optimus scowling at her for such disbelief in herself.

"Never think such things that about yourself Arcee. Each of your partners knew the risk when it came to every mission they went on whether with you or anyone else. Jack may not be the same physical size or able to endure the same level of physical punishment as us, his spirit is strong, and will not break so easily to the whims of Megatron or anyone else under his command," said Optimus and saw Arcee nod knowing Jack would keep on fighting to the end no matter what.

Like Arcee, Optimus himself had seen that determined look in the boy's eyes before on many occasions when push came to shove, and knew Jack had the strength to endure long enough until they could rescue him.

"I'll try Optimus. Its just...Jack is different from Tailgate and Cliffjumper. When we were at war on Cybertron, the risks of us going offline in battle were always possible, but we didn't care because we knew our bodies could take the hits thrown at us, and keep on fighting until we couldn't function anymore. But Jack...Jack isn't a Cybertronian or even an Autobot. Yet each time it came to do something...he would always be among the first to think up an idea or fight for us even when the risk of being destroyed was higher then the rate of survival. Blowing up Airachnid's ship, surviving the cave-in using the energon drill, followed by holding his own when meeting with Megatron, and even figuring out how to get to Cybertron to find Vector Sigma using the Decepticon's own Space Bridge was all Jack," explained Arcee passionately and it was to Optimus that Jack's personal contributions to the team since becoming apart of it had been crucial in the victories over the Decepticon thus far.

"Jack's ability to help us have indeed been invaluable to us Arcee. I will not deny this. It was the reason I entrusted Jack with the Key to Vector Sigma. We can only hope Jack is strong enough to endure Megatron's torture long enough for us to rescue him before any damage done becomes permanent," replied Optimus seeing Arcee had a worried look on her face.

"And what if...what if it does become permanent? What if what they've done to him while on the Decepticon Warship can't simply _BE_ removed? Jack isn't robotic organism like us Optimus. The injuries he's suffering from won't go away with a little polish, wax, or a little 'elbow grease' as the humans call it. How do we live with ourselves knowing that those scars on Jack's body are there because we didn't get to him fast enough to prevent their creation?" questioned Arcee and saw Optimus look away for a second.

"Sadly, that is something I cannot answer until after Jack is recovered from Megatron's hands," answered Optimus gravely and Arcee shut her optics with a frown on her face.

"At least it can't get any worse," said Arcee before she winced since things always did turn for the worst after someone spoke those words.

(_The Nemesis_-Medlab)

"Feeling better today Jack?" asked Megatron the moment he entered the room and laid his optics on the human boy.

"Oh yeah. Just need a pillow, a warm blanket, and a wide screen HD TV on that wall would make things even better," answered Jack sarcastically since he wasn't going to let Megatron use this tactic of being merciful to make the boy lower his guard.

"I see your wit and opinion of us hasn't changed much. Still, I'm in too good a mood to have your disrespect ruin it. In fact, considering what is about to happen to you...I might actually miss it," replied Megatron with Jack looking a bit worried when hearing that.

"What do you mean? You won't kill me? Not with what I know? You'd never let such a chance to know the location of Vector Sigma slip through your grasp. You'd keep me alive for one thousand years if you could!" Jack stated with Megatron grinning.

"Very true. I would do that to you if I could just for location of Vector Sigma. Sadly, you humans have such very short life expectancies, and I doubt even after such a long time of being alive you would give me its location. So I've decided to go an alternative route in getting such information out of your head," replied Megatron with his grin never leaving him.

"How? I won't tell you what you want no matter what you do to make me talk," replied Jack and at this point Megatron laughed.

"I know _you_ won't tell me boy. But your brain _will_! You see, I realized the best way to get information out of your head, is to extract it the same way I would an Autobot being just as stubborn as you, and would rather die then tell me what I want," explained Megatron with Jack's eyes widening in realization.

"A cortical psychic patch," said Jack with Megatron and the other Decepticons actually being impressed that he knew that.

"Someone has been reading our playbook when we weren't looking," remarked Knock Out silently to Breakdown.

"So you know what that is. Not surprising after the Autobot Scout went inside my head to dig around in it for vital information meant to save Optimus from something only I would know. However, unlike what happened with me in my case of surviving, I'm going to ensure this cortical psychic patch is strictly _one way_, and different from our usual method of gathering information," said a grinning Megatron while bringing up information onto a large nearby computer screen.

"Lord Megatron, while I'm all for extracting information from my Jack, but will this not kill him?" asked Airachnid, as she didn't want to see Jack dead just yet, and wanted to have some fun _after_ her Master had what he needed from the human male.

"Soundwave has already calculated everything Airachnid. The human has an eighty five percent chance of surviving the information extracting process. In the event he does _NOT_ survive...you get his head on a wall in your quarters. Does that satisfy your interests in connection to _your_ Jack?" replied Megatron with Airachnid looking briefly over at Jack for a moment.

"That works," answered Airachnid with a cruel smile on her face.

"Good. Knock Out! Breakdown! Prepare the boy for surgery so we can begin the cortical psychic patch. His _hair_ is in the way," commanded Megatron before heading to the door.

"Lord Megatron, forgive me for asking this, but...should we sedate him for this dangerous procedure?" asked Breakdown with the Decepticon Warlord pausing at the doorway and turn to look at the boy.

"Why not! I'm feeling merciful right now. Sedate him in preparation for what is to come. Soundwave! Record everything and make sure the human's hair is put in a small storage box. I have an interesting idea on how it might be useful in hurting Prime, his Autobot subordinates, and their human charges further," answered Megatron and it was clear the Warlord had something cruel in mind.

"Yes Lord Megatron. We'll begin at once," replied Knock Out, as he began to make preparations with Breakdown on getting Jack ready for surgery, and neither Decepticon noticed Airachnid move closer to the boy.

"Believe it or not Jack...I am hoping that you live through this. There is so much fun we can still have together when Megatron gets what he wants. So please do this as a favor to me...and _live_!" whispered Airachnid into Jack's hear and gave him a surprisingly gentle kiss on his cheek.

'Well if that's not reason enough to hope I kick the bucket I don't know what is,' thought Jack before feeling himself getting injected in the neck with a needle and the last thing he saw was Airachnid leaving Medlab after looking back at him to give the boy a wink.

(Autobot Base)

"PRIME! WE GOT SOMETHING HERE THAT REQUIRES YOUR ATTENTION!" yelled Fowler when entering the base holding a box in his hands and put it on the kitchen table in the lounge area meant for the kids.

"What a care package from Mom?" Bulkhead asked sarcastically before looking at the box with the others and then scowled seeing the insignia for the Decepticons on all sides.

"Not unless my Mother pulled a Benedict Arnold and joined the Decepticons. I had some of my men watch the Darby house in case the Cons decided to grab Jack's Mother. _THIS_ was dropped off on the house doorsteps by Soundwave himself before he took off mere seconds after putting it down," explained Fowler while pointing to the box.

"And you brought it directly here?! The Decepticons could have put a bomb or tracking device in on it!" exclaimed Ratchet before scanning the whole box top to bottom and then putting it in a decontamination field for inspection.

"Don't you think I knew that! I had the darn thing inspected from every possible angle I could think of authorizing. There is nothing dangerous outside or in the box from what my boys have been able to figure out," replied Fowler while Ratchet's own devices told him the same thing about the item.

"I fear its not the box itself we need worry about, but rather the specific _contents_ in which Megatron has put into it," said Optimus with the other Autobots and even Agent Fowler himself suddenly going tense knowing that whatever was inside this tiny package...it was something that belonged to Jack.

"Something belonging to Jack is in this box," stated Arcee, as she almost reached for the lid of the item, but pulled her hand back quickly from the fear of _what_ might be contained inside, and looked at Optimus for a moment.

"Whatever it is, my scans show its not contaminated, but its definitely organic, and it was a part of Jack," stated Ratchet while glad the kids were in school and not here for this.

"Remove the lid of the box Agent Fowler. Though do so with the utmost caution just to be safe," commanded Optimus with the government agent nodding before he carefully undoing the bow and slowly lifted the box to see inside.

"By George Washington's wooden teeth," whispered Fowler before reaching into the box and lifted the contents of the container for the Autobots to see.

"Is that...hair?" asked Bulkhead while zooming in on it with his optics.

"Not just any hair. Its _Jack's_ hair," stated Arcee and saw Fowler look into the box again.

"This box is full of it. All black strands of human hair. Now why in the name of FDR's wheelchair would they do that?!" questioned Fowler while Optimus's optics narrowed.

"Its meant to be a message to us from Megatron. A message that clearly states the boy we know as Jack Darby will not be recognized by anyone here when we see him next," was the Prime's answer to the horrible question.

"Does this mean Jack is still alive or...?" asked Arcee while looking at the contents now from a new angle and saw the strands of hair that once belonged to her partner had been removed with surgical precision.

"Megatron has no intention of killing Jackson. Of that much, I know is true deep within my spark Arcee. However, this message also tells me that the next time we see Jackson, the way we remember him from before his capture...will be nothing more then a mere memory," answered Optimus, as he began to picture Jack in his mind, the times they talked, the way the boy laughed at something, got serious, and tried to be responsible for those around him.

The thought of the Jack he had come to know and respect being destroyed by Megatron's hands brought an ache to his Spark the Prime hadn't felt since the loss of Elita One.

"If that's the case, then we should burn rubber trying to find Jack before Megaton does anymore _alterations_ to him," replied Bulkhead and stepped back when Arcee glared at him for mentioning what had no doubt happened to Jack.

_"What about June?! She is Jack's Mother! We can't keep something like this from her! Not to mention the kids!"_ exclaimed Bumblebee through his various beeps, whistles, and whirling noises.

"For the moment, we will not tell June, or the children about what we have just learned. Such a thing would only upset them and I fear Jack's Mother will not be able to handle this new development for what it represents about her son," answered Optimus with the group reluctantly nodding in agreement.

"I'll take the box with me. The last thing those children need to see Jack's hair suddenly lying around when they come back here after school or if June decides she wants to come by to visit," said Fowler and took the box with Jack's hair inside to the elevator.

"We have to tell June eventually. She's called earlier asking for updates about her son. I don't like lying to her," stated Arcee while Optimus nodded.

"Nor do I Arcee. But June is already fearful of what has befallen her only son. If she sees the contents of the box, her fears, and worries will only rise higher to new levels to being possibly true," replied Optimus with Ratchet sighing now.

"I may not know much about human physiology, but I do know that the woman's stress levels were off the charts from my scans when she first fainted. Too much stress would be June's undoing and that box filled with Jack's hair would be the instrument in which would cause such an end," Ratchet decided to add to the conversation.

"One of the reasons why Megatron had it sent to the Darby home in the first place. To cause reactions within all of us," said Optimus since he knew how Megatron liked to inflict all forms of pain on others through cruel means.

"Well its working. I bet it was Knock Out and Breakdown who did it. That hair was cut with surgical tools and those two are the only ones on Megatron's Warship qualified to use them," stated Arcee while Bulkhead growled at hearing Breakdown's name.

"Now I'm wishing I never rescued the one eyed jerk from that M.E.C.H. base," stated Bulkhead angrily since Breakdown should be showing some form of sympathy towards Jack after being nearly chopped up himself.

But then again...showing or feeling sympathy was not part of the Decepticon way.

(_The Nemesis_-Medlab)

Jack awoke, his eyes staring upward at the ceiling above him with the bright lights now burning his eyes like the sun would do when first looking at it, and tried to look around. However, his head was strapped down tight just like the rest of his body, and felt the cool metal on the back of his head where his jet black hair _use_ to be not that long ago. He also noticed the angle of the table was no longer diagonal, but rather perfectly horizontal, and barely saw the tall form of Sound Wave standing there behind his shaved head. The Con was like a statue, yet gave off the appearance of being deathly all the same, and it was clear why Megatron favored this one over all the others.

This Con knew how to bring about fear just through his silence alone.

"I see that the sedatives wore off sooner then expected. No doubt its all thanks to your little friends running around inside your body trying to purge any unwanted guests from it. I was hoping they would do that before we started the procedure," stated Megatron with Jack's focus leaving Soundwave to the voice coming from the boy's right that was the Decepticon Warlord.

"Y-You said I would be sedated for the procedure! I heard you say that!" exclaimed Jack nervously while Megatron let out an amused chuckle.

"No. You misheard me Jack. Soundwave...replay what my order was to Knock Out and Breakdown," said Megatron while Soundwave looked down at the boy in front of him.

_Sedate him in preparation for what is to come._

"As you clearly heard thanks to Soundwave young Jack, the order specifically stated that you were to be kept knocked out during the _preparations_ for the procedure we are about to perform. Not the _actual_ procedure itself like you no doubt believed when I gave the command," answered Megatron and saw Jack trying desperately to break free from his restraints before Soundwave's hand came down gently on his body to make the boy stop any attempt at hurting himself.

"Lord Megatron, we are all ready on this end," stated Knock Out since he hooked Jack up to several monitors to watch his vitals.

"Excellent. We will begin shortly. _Unless_...unless Jack wishes to tell me what I want to know right now to spare himself what will surely be unimaginable pain?!" said Megatron while leaning close to the table to see Jack's eyes meeting his optics.

"_Frag_..._you_!" answered Jack with all the fury he could muster into his eyes to direct at Megatron's red optics.

"Defiant until the end Jack. I'm beginning to see why Optimus saw so much of himself in you and put the Key to Vector Sigma in your hands. You were definitely a Prime in the making. Now...you will be _unmade_! Begin the process Soundwave. Download everything from within his mind. Leave nothing left unturned. I want to know exactly how this boy came to be Optimus's chosen human for a Prime!" exclaimed Megatron with Soundwave nodding before Breakdown connected the patch on Soundwave while the silent Con took command of it like he would his own tentacles and moved it like a snake toward the hole in the table where the back of Jack's head rested.

'Guys...I'm sorry. I held out as long as I could, but...I failed you,' thought Jack before he felt something piece the back of his skull and screamed his lungs out.

Megatron watched with a sense of joy, as the sound of the boy's screams were music his ears, and the agony in Jack's eyes would be in his memory banks for ages. Easy to recall to bask in or to use when he spoke to Optimus the next time they crossed paths. Jack was turning his head left and right in some blind attempt to shake off the cord, but the three clamps on the connector activated to lock it into position, and prevent the connector from being knocked free from the human's body. Tears overflowed from the boy, as the pain was no doubt unimaginable for him, and the Decepticon Warlord had been informed by Knock Out early on that this would be the case given how the brain of the human was the most sensitive when it came to feeling pain.

'To think this is only the _beginning_ of what I have planned for you Jack. Soon, I will have the location of the Autobot Base, Vector Sigma, and just to spite Optimus further...a new human recruit of my own. Yes! One who will become the human equivalent...to _myself_!' thought Megatron, his smile never leaving him while seeing Jack's body arch itself, the scarred body trying desperately to get free, but with no success, and yet the chains that held him were clearly strained from it.

The boy was indeed strong and Megatron was going to enjoy molding him to his liking when this was over. After all, these screams weren't simply just screams of pain like most would come to believe if they were witnessing this.

These were the screams of pain from a new life that would soon be made before his very _optics_!

(A/N: YAY! Another update. Hope you liked it. So there you have it. Another chapter done and ready to be reviewed. REVIEW I SAY! Please! Until next time...PEACE!)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-To be Broken and Remolded

Megatron was in his private quarters. A room that was much larger then the others ones his subordinates had when recharging. Hours had gone by since the experiment on Jack had ended and the Decepticon Warlord had left with Soundwave beside him to put the boy's memories into his personal computer system. Once done, Knock Out had quickly reported in stating Jack's vitals had stabilized, but just barely, and would need time to recover from the invasion in his mind. Megatron informed Knock Out that he was to keep the boy alive at all costs and begin the second phase of the plan when Jack was strong enough.

For now, Megatron just wanted to look at the long line of valuable memories that once belonged to one Jack Darby, and learn the location of the Autobot Base.

Putting in his personal code to give him access to the system, the Decepticon Leader went to the data surrounding Jack's memories, and skimmed through the boy's early childhood since he wasn't interested in that just yet. No. That could wait until later when everything else was known to him. Right now, Megatron was searching for the moment when Jack encountered the Autobots, and began to see the boy's day play out at his place of work.

'To think such potential is wasted at such a disgusting place of human business,' thought Megatron, as he saw the boy put up with rude customers, people who took the meals at the drive-thru window without paying, and laughing at Jack's expense.

Not really all an impressive day for the boy trying to make some money to support his family consisting of himself and his femme sire. So Megatron watched with a bored expression until Jack's shift ended and was heading home on his 10 speed bike, which wasn't impressive either in the Warlord's mind, and watched the human stop when he saw the blue motorcycle that was Arcee. It was clear the blue femme was trying to hide within plain sight among the human population, his own troops at the time had been under the command of Starscream, and just mere days before his return to his Warship with the dark energon he had discovered.

The Decepticon Warlord almost found it amusing how the human acted around Arcee, never even realizing at the time she was something more then a mere two wheeler, and how things changed soon after. The boy found himself riding on the Autobot when his troops started chasing Arcee again, assuming Jack was with her by choice, and knew of her true identity in being a Cybertronian. So now Megatron watched with more interest in his optics, as Arcee dodged left, moved right, moved right some more, and then went off road below the highway she was on with Jack holding on for dear life. When they came to a stop, Jack instantly got off, terrified at what was happening, and soon found the little human boy Megatron recognized as young Rafael.

The very same boy he had blasted shortly before arriving at the human base for the power source needed to complete his Space Bridge. He had to admit, the little boy had courage too, though not as much as Jack, who moved to keep the child safe from harm when his forces turned their attention to them, and frowned when the Autobots slowly turned the tide of battle.

Rewinding the battle, Megatron replayed it again, seeing his forces nearly come close to killing the Autobots around him on several occasions, but the humans proved to be a key distraction necessary to turn the tide, and allowed the enemy to win. Moving forward, it was clear Jack wanted no part with the Autobots, and was surprised Arcee threatened him in the event he told anyone about their existence. Fast forwarding through the memory to the next day, Megatron was surprised to see young Raf was able to communicate with the Autobot Scout, and seemed to act casually about it.

Jack wasn't so casual, but rather cautious of this new development, which the Decepticon Warlord could marginally respect, and saw the boy trying to convince Arcee that he did not want any part of what was going on between either faction. However, Arcee was even more adamant that he come, and at the request of Optimus Prime himself. Grinning at his victory in knowing the location of the Autobot Base, the Decepticon Leader watched as the girl leaped out to tell Jack to go with Arcee, and basically drag her along too since the impulsive girl now knew the secret.

But just as Megatron felt victory figuratively be within his grasp...it was removed from his sight when the memory soon filled with static and the words "ACCESS DENIED!" appearing in big red letters. Shocked and angry at being denied his chance to see the location of the Autobot Base, Megatron slammed his fists onto the control panel, and tried to see it again by rewinding the memory to the point moments before the static appeared.

Only to be denied yet again!

"Soundwave! Report to my quarters at once!" commanded Megatron with fury laced into his voice.

When the Soundwave came into the room, it was clear the silent Con was confused by his Master's command to see him, even if you couldn't see it on his faceless face, and tilted his head slightly to understand what it was the Warlord wanted from him. Megatron just glared at Soundwave for a second, his red optics burning into Soundwave's glass face, and then showed him why he was summoned to see the Decepticon Leader. It was clear now to Soundwave that his Master thought he had somehow screwed up the procedure or had done something to deny the Warlord what he wanted.

Megatron wanted an explanation from Soundwave and he wanted it _now_!

_Techno-organic Nanomachines._

"You think the Nanomachines in Jack are responsible for this?" asked Megatron while seeing Soundwave nod his head before his face showed the same memory getting filled with static and showing "ACCESS DENIED!" in big red letters.

_Eighty five percent chance_.

"Could all of his memories pertaining to the Autobot Base and Vector Sigma like that as well?" asked Megatron with Soundwave scanning those memories for a moment before giving a quick nod.

_Yes Lord Megatron_.

"Blast that boy and his Nanomachines! It seems even on some subconscious level the boy was able to make sure they intend to defy me just as he has from the start. No matter. I can still look at everything else he may know that won't be as _sensitive_ then the ones I want. Continue trying to decrypt the Iakon Database until further ordered," commanded Megatron and saw Soundwave nod before leaving the room.

Walking back to his chair, which he treated as a throne more then anything, the Leader of all Decepticons began scanning the other memories Jack had. One instant caught his eye, as the title of the memory was marked "Scraplet Infestation", and clicked the play button to see events from Jack's point of view.

(Jack's Memory)

_"Its definitely a Scraplet Trap,"_ came Ratchets voice with him, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and the three humans looking inside the hole of the round metallic orb.

_"An __**empty**__ Scraplet Trap," _remarked a clearly scared Bulkhead while looking around for any potential Scraplets that could be floating around and Megatron grinned seeing the usually boastful former Wrecker shake like a little Sparkling.

_"The pod was most likely launched eons ago until it landed deep within the arctic and has kept them alive in hibernation,"_ explained Ratchet before turning to the others.

_"Until we brought the thaw,"_ stated Jack with Ratchet nodding and proceeded to go over the problems the Autobot Base was suffering as a result of their infestation.

Megatron watched with amusement as the Autobot Medic made his way to the inferior communication technology they possessed, trying to contact Optimus about the situation, and grinned when seeing the attempt ending in failure. Bulkhead felt they should leave and let the Scraplets have the base rather then risk their own bodies being destroyed. Of course such a move was amateurish in Megatron's mind since he knew that Scraplets in any infestation would just leave any infested base soon after it was picked clean of metal.

_"You have to let us help,"_ was Jack's reply and it was surprising to Megatron to hear the boy offer to assist in fighting the infestation.

_"We're not made of metal!"_ exclaimed Raf soon following.

_"Yeah! The Scraplets won't hurt us,"_ the Asian girl, who went by the name of Miko from the system telling Megatron the identity of those in it.

_"Typically, I find your fleshiness to be your least engaging qualities. __**But**__ it would appear to provide an advantage under these extremes,"_ stated Ratchet since Scraplets only ate metal and with no metal on the human body...they could actually go where Cybertronians in general could not when it came to those vile creatures.

_"Okay good! So we pare off. One Bot one human. I'll watch your back while you repair the Ground Bridge,"_ said Jack in an almost commanding tone that Megatron notice.

'An ingenious plan. Not bad for a human fleshling,' thought Megatron, as he did a very brief fast forward through the memory so he could cut through the Autobot Medic's work on the Ground Bridge system.

The Decepticon Warlord was even more impressed when Jack began fighting off the Scraplets that got within range of his primitive yet still effective weapon. Of course the boy was a bit scared when he saw the Scraplets flying around and Megatron understood Jack's surprise since many back on Cybertron didn't know that little key fact until it was too late. Still, the Leader of the Decepticons was surprised, yet amazed this human boy could rise to the challenge of fighting off Scraplets, and saw the other two humans come in with the other Autobots to fight off the swarm flying around them.

_"Did we get them all?"_ asked Jack before the sound of buzzing could be heard in the distance.

_"Hardly. These were just scouts!"_ answered Ratchet while informing the other how they needed to get the Ground Bridge open for Arcee and Optimus with Raf mentioning they could send the Scraplets anywhere on the planet.

_"Why not back to the arctic? We already know they don't do cold!" _stated Jack and his words clearly impressed Megatron since he doubted the Autobots would have thought about that.

_"Sweet! One stop shopping!" _exclaimed Miko with excitement.

From there on, Megatron saw the three humans walk lightly along the trail of Scraplets on the ground, doing their best to not provoke the walking metallic plague, and fix what was probably the last key reason of their Ground Bridge not functioning properly. Within moments, Bulkhead had used himself as bait for the remaining Scraplets to feed on when leaping through the portal to the arctic circle, and Megatron had to admit he was very much impressed with Jack handled himself.

(End Memory)

'Not bad Jack. It seems you were molded thus far through actual trials and hardships. But I need to see more of what you've done to get the praise of a Prime!' thought Megatron, as he went through the list of memories, and saw some of them had gaps in them where the boy was nearing the Autobot Base.

Frowning slightly, Megatron decided to try another memory that wasn't connected to the base itself, but rather had Jack out in the field, and participating in missions outside with the Autobots. Skipping ahead a few weeks, Megatron found in connection to Knock Out, Breakdown, his former SIC Starscream, and the findings of an Energon Harvester that was left behind by the Ancients themselves! Hitting the play button once more, Megatron fast forward to the point where Jack was in the base, and Bulkhead arrived with Miko after their encounter with Breakdown.

(Jack's Memory)

_"It is indeed an Energon Harvester. A powerful tool used by the Ancients to remove raw energon from any source," _came the voice of Optimus, who confirmed that the orb was indeed the real thing from the painting the human girl had taken a picture of during her time in Greece.

_"Greek Gods knew Autobots?"_ asked Raf, which made Megatron scoff at the smart boy's stupid question.

_"No. The Ancients often used the art of a given era to conceal messages. This Fresco was likely a sign post indicating the harvester's location. Hidden somewhere on this planet,"_ answered Optimus while Megatron frowned at this news and made a mental note to speak to Soundwave about searching for other sign posts that this world may have regarding any potential Ancient artifacts.

_"Uh, Optimus? If the harvester removes energon from anything and you all have energon pumping inside of you...,"_ said Jack with concern and the Decepticon Leader watching the boy's memory paused it for a moment in realization.

'Now that is an interesting thought. Using an Energon Harvester as a _weapon_ against the Autobots. Jack was clearly thinking about how I or any other Decepticon would use it. Not bad boy. You would have made a great strategist in the making during the Great War back on Cybertron,' thought Megatron before hitting play on the memory.

_In Decepticon hands the harvester would be a devastating weapon,"_ replied Optimus, as he was clearly concerned like Jack had been about its use, and who was using it.

_"See! You were a genius to total that painting!" _exclaimed Miko to Bulkhead.

_"Miko's not wrong. How can the Cons find the harvester without the Fresco?"_ said Arcee knowing they had the advantage over the Decepticons.

_"With High-Speed Internet, if you do an image search for Greek God, and golden orb this pops up. Its in a museum,"_ answered Raf while showing them something on his laptop that showed a statue holding the Energon Harvester in its hand.

_"That the real deal?"_ asked Arcee while looking at Optimus, but Megatron himself knew it was since humans could _never _recreate a fake one.

_"Contact Agent Fowler,"_ commanded Optimus in a tone that told those present that this was indeed a serious situation they needed to address.

'So Optimus has a contact of sorts within a human government to provide support. It would explain how the boy had that strange suit on when I picked his form up at my Space Bridge. No doubt designed to protect him from the lack of air all humans need to breathe,' thought Megatron while ignoring the fact that this Agent Fowler was not able to assist the Autobots at the moment.

_"Without Agent Fowler's direct aid, we will have to confiscate the harvester on our own,"_ said Optimus since there was no other way they could go about this.

_"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Confiscate? As in __**steal**__ museum property?!"_ asked Jack in surprise that Optimus would even consider doing that.

_"That sounds...__**illegal**__,"_ added Raf with his own uncertainty in the matter being heard by the others.

_"I do not wish to break human law, but once the Decepticons learn of the harvester's location, they will not hesitate to obtain it...by any means necessary. We must act __**covertly**__," _answered Optimus and Megatron agreed with his rival for an enemy when he heard the explanation.

_"Uh, okay no offense Optimus, but 'covertly', and 'giant robots' don't really go together. Museums are __**public**__ and they have __**guards**__ and __**security cameras**__!" _countered Jack, as he knew that the whole point of being covert was to not be seen, and giant robots could not _enter _a museum at any time without being seen in some way.

_"No prooooblem! We are small enough to sneak in __**and**__ were not a government secret!"_ exclaimed Miko excitedly while getting right in Jack face when making her point.

'So the human femme was the one to suggest they go instead of the Autobots, but only due to Jack unknowingly pointing out _why_ any covert plan would fail without the means of human involvement. The boy is right to be cautious and his concerns are all on point when it comes to dealing with problems that arise from a situation. Knowing Starscream, he would complain about _everything_, and not the key issues that a true strategist would suggest be handled. With a little nurturing, the boy could truly be something,' thought Megatron while hearing Optimus himself agreeing with the idea of using the three human children to take the orb from the museum.

Fast forwarding through the memory, Megatron had seen Jack talking to Optimus about the proper time to take the Energon Harvester, and suggested at night when humans were not in the museum. At night, the guard on duty wouldn't be as focused on his job, and most likely be bored working the night shift anyway. The real problem was the security camera, which Jack explained in a museum were covering almost every angle, and were the eyes of the security guard watching over the place. Not to mention the sensors that would go off if anything smashed into it hard enough to make the sensors think someone was breaking in and sound the alarm. Optimus had been in full agreement with Jack's plan since the less human contact they had on this mission...the better.

So Megatron watched with some mild interest and saw the three children working some kind of primitive yet effective vehicle to get the orb. At first, it seemed the mission was going well for the three, but Megatron saw Jack look outside to see Optimus had stopped one of Breakdown's missiles from making impact with the glass front of the museum that would no doubt raise the alarm. The Warlord of the Decepticons made a mental note to remind Breakdown about finesse since he would not have approved of the destruction since it would have blown their cover on this planet.

Something that would be too soon for them to reveal if it happened now of all times.

Unfortunately, it seemed Breakdown had decided to use more brawn then brain, and was the reason for the alarm going off in the museum after Bulkhead hit Knock Out with the two hitting the museum. The impact was more then enough to trigger the alarms and the three children barely managed to not get caught stealing the harvester. Though the human femme was caught by the human assigned to guarding it, which Jack knew was just not possible in stopping, and had to push Raf back in the event he got too close to be spotted. Megatron could see from the boy's memory the various emotions he was feeling at the time and his thought process telling Jack to let the guard take Miko away since she wasn't in any danger. Apparently, Jack thought that Agent Fowler could step in later, and get Miko out of trouble by making up some government story capable of holding up scrutiny if looked at further.

Megatron almost thought Prime had the Energon Harvester at this point until they got to the loading area where truck normally entered to drop off museum artifacts and came face to face to faceless due to Soundwave arriving to take the orb. Jack had mistaken the silent Decepticon for Arcee due to it being dark and the shape of the legs were slimmer then the other Autobots While Megatron was a tad disappointed that Soundwave didn't take one of the humans with him, it was clear his intelligence gatherer was following the main objective in taking the orb off their hands, and leave the children alone since they were of no consequence at the time.

Megatron didn't know _HOW_ his subordinates lost the Energon Harvester, but the Warlord was willing to bet it was Starscream's fault, and would make a mental note to rip out the fool's Spark the next time he saw the traitor!

(End Memory)

"Not bad Jack. But I need to see why Prime chose you to hold the Key to Vector Sigma," said Megatron, as he went through the list of memories again, and stopped when he saw the title "Meeting Airachnid" on it.

Intrigued a bit since he knew the two had quite the history in such a short time, Megatron played the memory to see what it was that made his Torture Expert so interested in Jack in the first place, and want to rip his head off to put on a trophy. So he watched patiently, as Jack walked through a forest with Arcee, and tracking energon deposits believed to be in that general area. Fast forwarding through the memory, he stops to play it normally when they spot Airachnid's ship, and Arcee goes to investigate while Jack stayed behind to a lookout for trouble. Frowning slightly, Megatron saw this might take longer then he would like and fast forward again, almost going _too far_, and missing how Jack met the Spider Bot currently talking to a trapped Arcee.

(Jack's Memory)

Jack had heard something while in his makeshift tent he had setup and went to see who it was in the belief it might be Arcee. Rushing forward, he stood at the edge of the hillside, his feet kicking up some rocks, making some noise, but it was enough for those at the bottom of the hill to look up, and see him standing there. One was Arcee, who he was grateful to see, but the other one he didn't know, and his gut told him that this femme wasn't friendly. Especially since it looked like the two were fighting it out in close combat to the death with Arcee about to be the victor.

Until his presence caused the distraction needed for the one with multiple limbs to knock her back and get webbed to a cliff wall.

_"Arcee!"_ exclaimed Jack, as he ran to the femme Autobot, but in doing so got the other femme's attention, and was now becoming interested in him.

However, just as he had proven to be a good distraction against Arcee, the same could be said for her opponent, as the Autobot femme got one of her arms free from the webbing, and blasted the enemy away from them. Though it was direct, Jack could see it wasn't a lethal hit, and returned his focus to Arcee.

_"I told you to wait for me!"_ exclaimed Arcee while Jack got closer to remove the webbing from her person.

_"Well partners don't ditch partners Arcee,"_ countered Jack while tugging on the webbing and having little to no success freeing her.

_"Get this through your head, you're not my partner. You are a __**liability**_!" Arcee angrily stated with the intent to hurt his feelings and make him leave her like this.

_"I don't believe you. I can see it in your eyes! You're afraid Arcee. And you're __**never**__ afraid,"_ replied Jack while he kept on trying to free her from the webbing.

"Very perceptive boy. You see what I do," stated Megatron while seeing the memory now with greater interest.

_"You're right Jack. I __**am**__ afraid. Of losing you!"_ Arcee said at last with Jack focusing on her words and what they meant before the sounds of the dark metallic femme was heard behind them.

_"You sure have trouble holding onto your partners, don't you. We both know what happened to Tailgate. __**But**__, I recently picked up some Decepticon radio chatter regarding the passing of __**Cliffjumper**__! At some point, you really have to ask yourself Arcee 'Is it them? Or me?'" _replied Airachnid's voice in a sickly sweet voice that Jack knew was anything **BUT** sweet on the inside.

_"You get it now Jack? She's not interested in me, she hunts indigenous species, and she's on Earth. That means __**humans**__. __**You**__! __**RUN**__!"_ exclaimed Arcee with the boy listening to her for once and taking off and would have continued to get free if not for Airachnid's secondary layer of webbing she launched at her.

Jack knew he stood no chance against the spidery Decepticon, which he determined when he saw her logo, and the vibe alone she gave off _screamed_ enemy. He looked back to see the two talking briefly, meaning it was his only chance to get some distance between the femme Decepticon, and himself before she closed the gap quickly with her multiple legs. Moving left, right, almost random, but not quite, and hiding behind a thick tree that easily covered up his thin frame before taking a peek around to see Airachnid was closing in. He didn't know how she was able to find him so fast, but suspected her optics had the ability to see things in a way even most Cybertronians couldn't, and Jack quickly moved away from his spot when it became clear this wacked out Decepticon was heading right to his current position.

_'Yep! She definitely has optics meant for this sort of thing,'_ thought Jack while running again to keep some distance between them.

_"That's it Jack! Play hard to get!"_ exclaimed Airachnid happily since she enjoyed the thrill of the chase of hunting intelligent prey.

"Airachnid does tend to play with her prey too much. It might be her undoing if she's not careful," stated Megatron out loud to himself, seeing the boy dodge two shots of webbing from Airachnid, slide down a hill, and crawl down into a small ravine before crawling up on the opposite side.

Though it was but a mere crack compared to Airachnid easily jumping over it and was now continuing pursuit of her human prey.

Megatron watched, as Jack kept on running, and was impressed the human could run so much with the data from the memory showing the boy's body was ready to collapse soon if he didn't stop to rest. Though Megatron knew just as Jack did that to rest now would be the equivalent to giving up and letting Airachnid rip his body to pieces. Fast forwarding a bit to get to the key part where Airachnid's interest in Jack from this would finally reach its zenith, Megatron saw through the boy's eyes how he noticed the puddle of energon leaking from the engines of Airachnid's ship, and remembering how Ratchet mentioned it was very flammable if ever ignited. Taking out his "survival kit", Jack was able to use it with a rock, and make spark happen over a simple stick until the wooden object caught on fire after blowing on it before throwing the item into the engine hole where all the energon was leaking.

After that, it was simply a matter of running, and getting clear of the area knowing of what was coming when the fire spread deeper in the ship.

_"JACK!"_ yelled Airachnid after she saw what he had done and the explosion that soon happened echoing throughout the area.

_**KABOOOOOOM!**_

The force from the shockwave caused by the explosion sent Jack off his feet, into the air for a brief time, and his back hit the ground before he could recover to see Airachnid's ship was in flames. While glad it worked, Jack was also surprised that it did work since he didn't know if the energon leaking from the ship was tied to the engine, or any other vital part of the ship. But the gamble had paid off and the ship was destroyed so the victory in this fight went to the human prey rather then the Decepticon predator.

His victory was sadly cut short when Jack found his foot now caught in small patch of webbing launched at him from above by a burned and hungry looking Airachnid. It was clear from the look on the femme Decepticon's face that she was very much upset with him for blowing up her ship and at the same time was also very _excited_ at having caught such an intelligent human capable of injuring her like he did. No doubt she didn't think the human race had much to offer and his actions against the Decepticon femme had made her rethink that about the species.

Or maybe about him or those like him on the planet.

At least that was what Jack had concluded at the time if the data Megatron was reading was indeed correct. Even with Airachnid getting up close and personal the boy tried not to be afraid despite knowing the horror that was to come by her clawed hands.

Megatron soon ended the memory when it reached the point where Airachnid dug herself a means to escape Arcee's wrath. He had seen enough of Jack's memories so far to know the human to know the boy had potential in being a great leader just begging to come out. It was crude, it was shaky, but Orion Pax had been like that too once, and with a little fine tuning he could make Jack into something great. His time with the Autobots helped make such a natural thing in Jack stir, but it had just only begun to be put to good use, and no doubt would if it wasn't held back by the femme that was his sire. Judging by some quick look at the memories Jack had of her from the glances he have them, she kept the boy in close contact, making sure he didn't do anything too reckless, and always kept the boy in her line of sight.

It was as if the human femme was _afraid_ he would become something if she looked away from the boy for one simple second. What was she afraid of? Did she know about these techno-organic Nanomachines running through her son's body? She must have since the human femme was his sire, _but_ why hide it from the Autobots for so long? How did these even awaken in him recently? These devices were essentially alive due to their organic nature sustaining them, _BUT_ the Nanomachines themselves were basically in a form of stasis, and wouldn't truly be active until exposed repeatedly to a high concentration of energy. The energon prod itself provided nowhere _near_ enough energy to awaken them in Jack despite the boy's size and it would take much more then repeated attacks from the energon prod.

'It is possible they became active when the boy went through multiple Ground Bridges repeatedly and twice through my Space Bridge. Then there is also Vector Sigma and the power it generated when transferring the collective wisdom of the Primes into the Key. The Key to Vector Sigma would also be constantly generating a great deal of power and exposing Jack repeatedly at such close range to the energy it absorbed. Even when the human was transferring power of the Primes from the Key to Orion Pax so he could become Optimus Prime again, Jack would have been exposed to its raw energy, and he was close to the Space Bridge at the same time. So much energy in such short time _must_ have triggered the event and I'm willing to bet the energy from my Fusion Cannon didn't hurt either. Still, I need to use this to my advantage, and turn the tide of the war in my favor. Optimus is using the humans to give himself a tactical advantage in moving where my forces could not and give him access to different places without resistance because his cause is _noble_. Well Optimus, you will soon see where your _noble_ cause will get you the next time you, and the rest of Team Prime sees Jack next,' thought Megatron, as he closed off the terminal, knowing he could look at the memories later, and headed for the Medlab to see his human prize.

(Autobot Base-One Month Later)

Arcee was worried. Her Spark was aching inside and it was only getting stronger with each passing second. Something terrible had happened to Jack. She could feel it! This wasn't just the usual "gut feeling", as the human's called it, but the actual Spark aching pain one feels for that close person in your life, and have a special bond with. Whatever was causing Jack pain and her by extension, Arcee was certain Megatron was the source behind it while Airachnid carried out his order to the letter. She could feel her energon in her body burning up to the point where the blue femme actually thought it would catch fire and cause her to explode.

She had spent every waking moment possible searching for Jack on the road when she wasn't searching for energon or hunting Decepticons mining the life giving energy. She had smashed through quite a few of them in recent weeks and demanding to know where the Decepticon Warship was located? What happened to Jack? What was her partners current condition while onboard? Every time she was met with silence, them telling her to frag off, or mocking the blue femme with the fact Jack was screaming out in pain with no relief in sight. How Jack was crying and begging for mercy like the weak human they claimed he was while being tortured by Airachnid.

She spared none of them her wrath.

"Arcee. You need to get some rest," said Ratchet seeing the blue femme sitting down on the ground, knee pressed against her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, and looking lost.

"Jack wouldn't rest until he found me. Why should I do anything less for him?" countered Arcee with Ratchet shaking his head.

"Jack wouldn't be sitting on the ground right now. But then again, Optimus did order you to stay here with me in case something happened since its his turn to look for energon with Bumblebee," stated Ratchet knowing Bulkhead had gone to pick up the two children still remaining in their care.

"What do you suggest I do Ratchet? I can't help you find the _Nemesis_, I can't go scouting for it, and I'm basically assigned here at the base in the event something turns up. What do you expect me to do?" asked Arcee with Ratchet being unable to answer her for a moment.

"I expect you to endure just as Jack is no doubt trying to do. Would you expect Jack to give up on you if rolls were reversed?" replied Ratchet and saw Arcee glaring daggers at him.

"He'd never give up searching for me and you know it!" exclaimed Arcee before getting off the ground and in the Autobot Medic's face.

"Then don't give up to despair Arcee. If you do...the Decepticons will be one less step away from the victory they seek," replied Ratchet before going back to the monitors in order to continue searching for the Decepticon Warship.

Or rather he would have if not for Agent Fowler contacting them.

"Ratchet! Is Prime there?" asked Fowler on the view screen.

"No Agent Fowler he's not. Why? Did you somehow find the _Nemesis_?" asked Ratchet with Arcee coming up behind him.

"No. I've just spoken with June a few minutes ago. She needs to talk to everyone at the base. Apparently, there is something she feels everyone needs to know about Jack that was kept from us," explained Fowler with both Bots looking at each other and then back at him.

"What exactly? Is it something regarding his health?" asked Arcee since she knew that some humans had allergies or health issues that if not treated could prove to be fatal.

"I don't know. June wouldn't tell me. All I know is that its important and connected to Jack in some way. Whatever it is, I'd bet Abraham Lincoln's Top Hat that we're not going to like what we hear, and is something we should have known from the start," answered Fowler since the woman had this stressed out "I need to tell you something" voice when she called him.

It was like she was going to confess some great sin to them that couldn't be kept a secret any longer.

"We'll send a Ground Bridge for her after I finish contacting Optimus and the others to come back to base," replied Ratchet with Fowler nodding.

"I'll be arriving soon after I do some more digging into June's past. If its connected to Jack like we think it is, I need to do some digging, and find out what it could be in the event the woman decides to hide something else," said Agent Fowler knowing that June could hide something aside from what she wanted to tell them.

If there is one secret...chances are there will be more then just the one.

"Tread carefully Agent Fowler. Whatever you might find and bring to light must be first done by Mrs. Darby. Only when she doesn't tell us should the information be brought to light...if there is anything left to hide," replied Ratchet and saw Fowler nod before ending the communication.

"What do you think she's hiding about Jack?" asked Arcee with Ratchet running his hand through the top of his metallic head.

Something he picked up from humans with their hair when concerned or nervous.

"It could be any number of things. Something from Jack's past. Her past. Maybe both given how Jack was raised by her this entire time until now. Whatever she knows, it is clear Mrs. Darby feels there is no other option left except to tell us this secret, and no doubt fears the Decepticons will somehow learn of it before we do," answered Ratchet with Arcee looking even more concerned now.

"Do you think it could be about Jack's Father?" asked Arcee with Ratchet pausing in thought.

"Possibly. I know human children have two sires need to _merge _in order to be..._created_ if from what I understand of them is correct. Mrs. Darby is Jack's femme sire and we know little to nothing about the male sire so there is a possible chance the latter of the two is also connected to this secret. Though whatever it is, we won't know until June is here to tell us what that secret is, and what it means for Jack," explained Ratchet while Arcee looked away.

"June once told us that Jack's Father left them when he was just a Sparkling. Aside from that...," answered Arcee with Ratchet shaking his head.

"We can't speculate on what the secret is Arcee. It would only distract us until revealed by her. Let's wait for Optimus and the others to get here before I Ground Bridge Mrs. Darby here," replied Ratchet and saw Arcee nod though the worried look never left.

(_The Nemesis_-Medlab-At the Moment)

"How is he doing Knock Out?" asked Megatron with a tone that almost sounded like he was concerned, as the Deception Warlord saw the Decepticon Medic currently looking over something on a monitor, and turned to look at the human on the table.

"Better then before Lord Megatron. As we suspected from the experiment, the pain had caused Jack here to 'shut down' if you will, and it took some time before his mind could properly 'reboot' itself. After that happened, Breakdown along with myself have begun making the necessary modifications to him, and the Cybertronian enhancements have successfully bonded to his body. Those Nanomachines in his body actually _helped_ us instead of hindering our process like we first thought they would," explained Knock Out and was looking at the monitors giving him readouts on Jack's vitals.

"As I knew they would given their connection to him. Had it been a poison or virus we gave Jack they would have expelled it within the hour. Of course such things would be considered counterproductive to what I have in mind for the human. Then again...he's not exactly human anymore now either," replied Megatron while looking at Jack and what was done to him.

Jack's flesh was no longer just flesh from what was seen of his upper torso. Aside from some scarring, there was metal mixed with flesh, Cybertronian components were put in place along the ribcage on both sides, his once broken leg had a cybernetic leg brace, and the other was enhanced to keep up with the other. Both of Jack hands were metal tipped claws surgically put into them, his throat had a vocal system installed, and Knock Out was even able to give the human's eyes an optic vision enhance system. Unfortunately, for Jack the last enhancement required surgery around his eyes, which required the boy _NOT_ be sedated since it would make the eyelids close, and they needed to be open where the operation needed to take place on both flesh orbs. The boy had screamed of course, his endurance to hold back the pain had long since left Jack after the main experiment with using the cortical psychic patch happened, and it was music to Megatron's ears when Soundwave played it for him each time after each surgery.

"All that's left is to put on the final piece around Jack's skull to finish our masterpiece," stated Knock Out while showing the complex item in his hand to Megatron.

"Do it. And make sure he is awake. I want to hear his screams when its attached. I want to hear the screams of a new life being created on my Warship," commanded Megatron with Knock Out nodding while Soundwave entered with Airachnid.

"Yummy," was all Airachnid said with a grin on her face while looking at what Jack had now become and the fact he was currently _naked_ for all to see.

Something that Knock Out had to do in order to surgically install all the enhancements into the boy's body. Not that Cybertronians cared much for such things like modesty since they never needed to wear any kind of clothing in the first place. Of course Jack would need new clothes after this was over, which Soundwave had retrieved through his own means, and had them in storage for the human when everything was finished here.

Still...Airachnid simply _loved_ the view and would be sure to rub it in Arcee's face when they saw each other next.

"Restrain yourself Airachnid. His use is now going to go beyond being your food or toy to be used for your enjoyment. Soundwave, did you finish the mental program regarding his loyalty to me?" said Megatron with Soundwave nodding silently a the question.

"Not to question you my Lord, but won't those Nanomachines in Jack expel the program soon after its upload?" asked Airachnid with Megatron grinning at her.

"Normally they would, _IF_ the program was designed to hurt him in some way. However, if the program Soundwave will soon install in to Jack's mind after this surgical procedure simply ensures the human's loyalty, and obeying my command...they will do absolutely _nothing_. The boy will fight for me. He will _die_ for me," stated Megatron when looking at Airachnid and then at Jack currently screaming out in pain with his voice.

A voice that no longer sounded human, but rather that of an animal in pain, and wishing to lash out at its attacker.

When it was over, Knock Out activated what was essentially the mask Jack would wear from the rest of his life, as the sound of gears, circuits, and other systems kicking in. The shape of the mask molded to his skull, digging painfully into his flesh despite it being the perfect size for him, and the mask let out a pressurized hiss after finishing the designed transformation into what Megatron had in mind for Jack. The slight marks on the mask would allow air to pass through easily into his mouth to breath and could split in two in order for him to eat or drink. Though given how he had energon fueled systems inside his body, the human boy now required energon be administered every so often, and that was where the surgery around his ribcage had come in with the system being placed there to distribute the energy to those cybernetic components.

"What about his memories?" asked Airachnid knowing that while the program would make Jack loyal to Megatron...his memories of the Decepticons and their treatment of him might cause a...conflict.

"He will have them for the most part. But the program will also ensure they are seen in a negative light. Jack will no longer be the human equivalent of a Prime in the making, but rather one of a _Decepticon_, and will be the human equivalent of _myself_!" stated Megatron while Soundwave walked to the table Knockout again attached the cortical psychic patch to the silent Decepticon before it snaked over to Jack and pierced the back of his skull like it had weeks ago.

Once more, the room was filled with Jack's screams of pain though they were muffled yet still carried for everyone hearing that he was suffering, and that no one on the room cared if he was in agony. He was being forged by pain and suffering for the purpose of being a weapon for the Decepticon cause.

A cause that was not his own and was now being forced upon him.

"Does that also mean we'll get the information about the Autobot Base and Vector Sigma from him without resistance?" asked Airachnid and she saw Megatron narrowing his eyes at her.

"That remains to be seen Airachnid. Since you were _unable_ to force the information out of him _yourself_, I was forced to step in, and device another means to get it. Unfortunately, that plan ended in failure since the Nanomachines in Jack's mind were somehow able to block such memories when Soundwave downloaded all of them," answered Megatron while a hint of anger laced his voice at her questioning him and the failure itself.

"Lord Megatron, our scans show Soundwave is nearly done downloading the program into the boy," stated Knock Out and saw Megatron walk closer to Jack's altered human body.

No longer was it mere flesh and bone like all the other organisms he encountered through his years in space searching for the blood of Unicron. No. This human was enhanced. His muscles that were still flesh strengthened, the various cybernetic systems Knock Out had surgically put in place also made sure to keep the boy at his physical peak performance, and make sure it didn't sacrifice any agility the boy might possess.

"Can you hear me boy?" asked Megatron while seeing the form in front of him remain unmoving and silent for what seemed like minutes with only Jack's heavy breathing being heard.

_**"Yes...Lord Megatron,"**_ answered Jack in a whispered voice that was not the one they had heard when they last spoke to one another.

"Good. Whom do you serve without question? Who is your one true Lord and Master?" asked Megatron and was met with silence for a few more seconds.

_**"You Lord Megatron,"**_ answered Jack without pause.

"Correct again. Now...tell me the location of the Autobot Base here on Earth and Vector Sigma back on Cybertron," commanded Megatron while staring at the boy earnestly.

_**"One moment...searching memories. Searching memories. Memories found. Error! Access denied. Scanning for reason...error! Access denied!"**_ answered Jack and it was clear Megatron was not pleased.

"Work around it. Get access!" commanded Megatron with Jack nodding his head.

_**"Attempting to override. Overriding. Error! Access denied. Rerouting systems to grant access to memories for location of Autobot Base and Vector Sigma. Reroute of systems failed. Override failed. The memories showing the location of the Autobot Base and Vector Sigma have been locked away. Internal system network will not authorize any access to memories of the location of Autobot Base or Vector Sigma,"**_ stated Jack in a robotic voice and saw Megatron was not pleased.

"So those Nanomachines of yours have chosen to defy me yet again. It would seem the program Soundwave installed can't override their intentions," replied Megatron while Jack said nothing and just looked at him behind the new mask.

"What do you want to do Lord Megatron? Another experimental procedure to possibly remove them?" asked Knock Out while everyone was watching the Decepticon Warlord intently.

"No. They would sooner kill their host before you could get them out. We'll let them be for now. I'll look through the different memories I have from Jack's point of view. I might find some clue to the location of the Autobot Base and Vector Sigma through them in an indirect manner that they couldn't block. For now...sedate our newest soldier and let him rest. He's earned it," answered Megatron with Knock Out nodding and quickly sedated the human boy before he left Medlab.

'Well...at least it wasn't a total loss. My Jack is still alive and when the time is right...we are going to have a different kind of..._fun_!' thought Airachnid, as she grinned at Jack, and walked out of Medlab with her evil looking smile never leaving her.

She and Jack were going to have a much more _interesting_ relationship from now on.

(Megatron's Quarters-Sometime Later)

Megatron sat in his throne of a chair while looking through more of Jack's memories of those close to him, focusing on the key individuals the boy knew, and was thinking about this new development with the Nanomachines not helping him. He needed to find a way to use Jack in a way that the Decepticon cause would benefit his contribution..._aside_ from tormenting Team Prime. The enhancements done to Jack would make him a great warrior capable of doing many incredible things when put to work and unleash his power on their enemies. There was the M.E.C.H. organization to consider, as Optimus himself from one of Jack's memories showed the Prime considered the humans to be extremely dangerous, and not to be underestimated simply because they were small.

'Prime would not declare them a threat for his own amusement. They are a third factor in this war and will try to prey on the weakened victor after watching us fight. Breakdown's loss of an eye was proof of that when he came back after escaping their base. That one human named Silas is a human who shouldn't be considered inferior in the slightest since he leads them. Its also clear the humans have a means to disable us if we fight them and our corpses would only give them leverage over my forces after they've dissected those they've caught. _But_, they won't be expecting Jack in the slightest. Oh no! They will never see him coming and I'm going to make sure that M.E.C.H. understands how foolish it was to challenge the superior species on this planet,' thought Megatron before Soundwave came in and showed a brief video of Jack fully dressed in dark grayish military clothing, black boots, and black trench coat.

_"You look absolutely stunning Jack. Truly a human worthy of being called a Decepticon" _came Knock Out's voice through the brief recording.

_"I need a name,"_ replied Jack, which made Knock Out and Breakdown raise an eyebrow at him.

_"Name? Did Soundwave screw with your head or something? You have a name already!"_ came Breakdown's voice.

_"A new life deserves a new name. Or at least an extension of what I have now. My name is Jack, but it needs something __**else**__! Something terrifying that further proves I serve the Decepticons and Lord Megatron,"_ replied Jack and the two seemed to understand.

_"What do you have in mind?"_ asked Knock Out curiously.

_"The decision is not up to me. My one true Lord and Master shall decide. Only then will I be truly ready to serve him to my fullest potential,"_ answered Jack before leaving for his newly assigned quarters that had been arranged for him.

"So the boy wishes me to give him an extended name to further prove he's on our side? Interesting. What do you think Soundwave? What extended name do you think would go well with Jack?" asked Megatron and for a moment the Decepticon Warlord only saw his reflection in Soundwave's visor.

Before an ancient newspaper clipping from London England appeared that was posted on the Internet the humans by someone and Soundwave zoomed in on the large letters that were on the front page.

_**JACK THE RIPPER STRIKES AGAIN!**_

Megatron looked at the title for only a second and grinned before letting out a laugh that echoed throughout his entire Warship.

(Autobot Base-Hours Later)

Everyone was at the base now. The Autobots along with the two human children they were protecting were waiting for Agent Fowler and June Darby with both entering the base in their own way. One by elevator after arriving on the roof and the other entering via Ground Bridge. Fowler surprisingly arrived first, as he had a massive folder under his arm, his face looking hard like granite, and it was clear whatever the former Ranger had discovered was not pleasant. When June entered via the Ground Bridge, it was clear the time since Jack being caught by Megatron had not been kind to the woman, and the stress was getting to her. June's eyes were now baggy from lack of sleep, her form was slightly thinner then they remembered from the lack of eating, and the weight of the situation coming down hard.

"I don't suppose there is any good news regarding Jack?" asked June hopefully with Optimus shaking his head no.

"I'm sorry June, but there has been no news about your son, or what condition he might be in since his capture," answered Optimus while finding his Spark aching over the fact he was lying to the woman since the box of Jack's hair told them otherwise.

"I see. I take it you want to know why I suddenly wanted to talk?" asked June with the Autobots nodding while Fowler looked at her with surprisingly piercing eyes.

"We are a bit...curious," answered Ratchet with June letting out a grimace.

"So am I. I'm curious how a simple woman could have fallen in love and married such a psychotic scientist who I'm ashamed to say worked for the U.S. Government I'm proud to serve?" questioned Fowler, he made his way down the ladder, and walked over to June currently taking several steps back from him on instinct.

Until Arcee got between them and gave the agent a glare.

"What are you talking about Agent Fowler?" asked Optimus with Fowler looking at Arcee, then June looking like she wanted to hide, and turned his attention to the Prime.

"I just spent the last couple of hours digging through more red tape then I've ever had to do in all the time I've spent working with your group Prime! Do you know why? It turns out Jack is not the boy we all thought he was growing up," stated Fowler with the Bots now looking at each other and then at him.

"Stop," whispered June, as she saw the Prime wanted the government agent to elaborate.

"Jack's Father was experimenting on something when working for the United States Government long before the boy was born. Several years after Jack came into the world, the man goes crazy, and is soon arrested at his home for attempting to kill his family," answered Fowler, which made the children in the room gasp, and the Bots themselves were looking horrified at this information.

"June...is this...true?" asked Arcee with June now sitting down on a nearby chair with tears in her eyes.

"No. Its not true. At the very least its...not accurate. Not entirely," answered June while not looking anyone in the eyes.

"Please explain June. So that we can understand," replied Optimus with June looking up and smiling at him weakly.

"I wish I could explain it Optimus. Even I don't fully understand what happened. One moment, I'm at home taking care of Jack, and the next...," answered June while being unable to continue.

"The scrap hits the fan," said Bulkhead and flinched when Arcee gave him a glare.

"Not the word I would use, but close enough. Jack's Father was not an evil man. Nor a crazy one. He was a brilliant scientist when I met him. I was still in Medical School at the time and when I met Jack's Father we just...clicked! He would talk with such passion and fire in his voice about wanting to use knowledge to help others. I remember how just _one_ conversation we had was about using science with medicine to cure diseases or help the physically handicap getting new limbs after losing them in wars or accidents," explained June and her voice had a softness to while she remembered the better days in her life.

"And the police report filed regarding him _that day_ with Jack and you both being in the hospital?" asked Fowler before producing a photo of Jack in the hospital and made June look away though none of the Bots or the children could see it where they were.

"Put it away! Please!" exclaimed June, as her eyes filled with horror, and it was clearly a very painful memory.

"Agent Fowler! Do not test my patience with your current behavior while you are in this base. June has come to explain things to us and you are not helping us learn how things are connected to Jack," commanded Optimus sternly and saw Fowler looking back at him before he looked at June.

"I'm sorry Prime, but from what I've read, and everything that's happened recently I'm a bit on edge regarding Jack. Especially if the Decepticons learn of this secret," answered Fowler before putting the picture away.

"What's so special about Jack? He's a normal kid like us...right?" asked Miko while June shook her head and looked up at the Prime.

"Jack is not normal. I know I come off as a 'helicopter Mom', as Miko once stated, but the reason for it is not because I love my son too much. I do it because I was afraid. I was afraid that what is inside of him would somehow activate and turn him into some kind of monster," explained June with the Bots and the children now focusing intently on her.

"What's inside of him?" asked Raf curiously while also being concerned for Jack too.

"Nanomachines and of the _alien_ kind. A whole lot of them are in the boy's body. Jack's Father experimented on him and then tried to kill Jack along with June to destroy the evidence," explained Fowler before June could answer and it made everyone gasp again in shock at this news.

Things just became more complicated while June couldn't look any of them in the eye.

(A/N: YAY! Another update. Hope you all enjoyed that. Until next time...PEACE!)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-More Twists and Turns

Everyone at the Autobot Base couldn't believe what they had just heard about one Jack Darby. Jack had alien Nanomachines in his body and his Father had been the source of it all. Experimented on by the his sire, only to have that man trying to kill him, and June sometime later with the result being a complete failure. Still, it would explain Jack's behavior to Team Prime, as the Autobots had known little of Jack's background, and how Jack acted in the first place. Whenever something was happening around him, Jack acted in a calculating manner, always trying to see several steps ahead of what was going on, and thinking of the future while in the present. Granted this didn't happen all the time since that incident with street racing and Knock Out almost capturing the High School bully Vince in the belief he was Bumblebee's human friend was in part to impress a girl at school.

Not one of Jack's _better_ moments, but one could argue the boy's hormones had played a factor, and wanted to prove to the girl he liked that he was every bit the man she believe him to be on account of his motorcycle. The fact his motorcycle was a living breathing alien robot, a _femme _robot, and was his guardian not withstanding.

"Wait a minute! How can Jack have these things in him and no one notices? Didn't he have checkups back then? After he was injured? I mean wouldn't Ratchets own scanners pick it up the moment Jack walked into the base?" exclaimed Miko while seeing June smiling at her.

"I just started my job as an intern at Jasper Hospital as a nurse a year before...that day, but I was very quick to learn since I had such an exciting child to take care of, and Jack's Father was always busy with his own work. We had a Nanny when our shifts prevented either one of us from looking after Jack, which back then we could afford since money wasn't an issue. After..._that day_ happened, I was able to eventually use my position to get access to Jack's medical records, and altered them just enough to fool anyone snooping around. Since then, I've been making sure any blood work done on Jack, or any kind of test is done at Jasper Hospital so I can make sure no one saw anything that would raise suspicion on him," replied June while smiling sadly knowing her own personal reason behind being a nurse had transcended just being a career.

"So any and all tests done on Jack were altered to prevent any of the doctors assigned to him from then on out wouldn't see the Nanomachines," commented Fowler with June nodding.

"To be honest, I didn't have to alter much. I was so afraid when I was being treated that the doctors would see something was off with Jack's blood, and see the Nanomachines running around in his body. But they didn't," replied June and it was clear everyone was stunned by this.

"How is that possible? I mean...Jack would have been given an all out examination and the Nanomachines would have turned up sometime during the tests," questioned Raf and it was clear this was another piece to the puzzle.

"Perhaps Jack's Father would know. He did perform the experiment on his own son," Ratchet offered in terms of an idea.

"What is the man's name?" asked Optimus while looking at June, who looked away from his gaze, and the Prime turned to Fowler for the answer.

"His name is Janus. Janus Warrington," answered Fowler while looking back at June for a moment before refocusing his gaze on the Prime.

"Is he alive?" asked Prime seeing Fowler nod before reopening the file in his hands.

"Yes. He's being held in a Federal Prison in Leavenworth under special conditions setup by the military to keep him out of the general population. Having him a military prison would have embarrassed the brass that were in charge of the military base he worked in so they used the incident with Jack and his Mother to throw him away in there. The man has his own personal section there meant to hold several inmates, but the Warden running the prison was given specific instructions to make sure Janus was isolated, and kept under a tight watch by the guards," explained Fowler while seeing Prime narrow his optics at the is information.

"Can you get into the prison see him without having your conversations being monitored by security?" asked Optimus with Fowler shaking his head no.

"I wish. I'd need to get a signed order from a whole lot of people and they aren't easy to get a hold of even if I used every trick I knew to reach them," explained Fowler after he saw the level of restrictions on this guy.

"And its not like we can just Ground Bridge the guy here," remarked Bulkhead while he scratched the top of his metal head.

"Sadly no. Still, it is imperative that we redouble our efforts to find Jack before Megatron discovers the secret lying deep within his body, and pray he hasn't found it already," said Optimus and the others nodded in agreement.

(_The Nemesis-_The Bridge-1 Week Later)

"Jack! Come to the bridge at once!" commanded Megatron through the speak system while looking out at the dark reaches of space in front of him with the sound of the doors to the bridge opening with the small presence entering.

_**"I am here as commanded Lord Megatron,"**_ replied Jack, as he kneeled from his current position which was about five long Cybertronian steps, and waited for the command of the Decepticon Warlord.

"I have a mission for you. One that will act as a means of striking back at my human foes, send a message to Optimus, and further test your skills in battle. Not to mention it will further prove your loyalty to me and seeing whether the investment I made in you was worth the effort," replied Megatron with the last part reminding Jack of how much time, resources, and energy was put into rebuilding his body after it was broken.

_**"Command me and I will obey,"**_ said Jack and kept his head down while the Lord of all the Decepticons grinned with his back still turned from his human charge.

"As you no doubt are aware of from your memories, the humans have an organization called M.E.C.H. working to advance their race technologically, and going so far as to dissect the bodies of those that fall in battle. Breakdown's loss of an eye is proof of their actions against either side of the war being waged and they don't care who they have to go through to get it. Your own Mother being kidnapped was proof of that as well from what Airachnid had told me recently," said Megatron with the Warlord seeing Jack's body stiffen from its kneeling position and could see the boy was now accessing that memory just as he did to further confirm what the Spider Bot had told him earlier.

And was filling him with rage.

_**"The leader of the organization is a man named Silas. He is military trained and his forces are too. That much is clear after what they tried in pulling a heist on a moving train to steal military grade technology,"**_ replied Jack while his head was still down and awaited his orders.

"This organization is a third side in a war meant for only two. This M.E.C.H. group the humans have created will now doubt interfere in our fight with the Autobots and attack the weakened victor of whoever wins the war. I will not have my side, which will in the end _win_ against the Autobots, be killed soon after by vultures, and our bodies be used for the endgame of some foolish human's ambition. Hence why I have summoned you here Jack. You are an extension of my Will. My desires. You are _MY_ _Ripper_! As such you will use your skills and power to crush this organization before they can use what they steal to crush _US_! Soundwave has found one of the bases that these humans have been using and I want _you_ to _personally _take it out while turning every flesh creature there into a mere rotting _corpse_!" stated Megatron while pointing at Jack, who looked up at Megatron, and simply nodded.

_**"There blood shall stain the walls and their faces shall only show fear from the sight of my fury that is but an extension of yourself Lord Megatron,"**_ replied Jack, as he bowed his head again, and yet he sensed the Warlord was pleased by his response.

"Good. Airachnid will be accompanying you on this mission. Her talents for infiltration and gathering information will prove beneficial in making the humans know what awaits them in the future," stated Megatron with Jack not commenting on Airachnid joining him, which to the Decepticon Warlord meant the boy had no qualms with it, and was willing to put up with the Spider Bot to prove his worth to his Master.

_**"We shall depart immediately once I have the necessary gear to ensure the mission does not end in failure. What of the equipment inside or the base's computer systems. Should I not hack into them and see what they have stored in the files?" **_replied Jack with Megatron thinking that part over.

"While I doubt anything this M.E.C.H. organization has in their systems is worth interest, we wouldn't want to overlook it, and miss such a wonderful opportunity to see what they have in terms of technology. While primitive, we can give the weapons they possess a nice upgrade to be used not only against the humans, but Optimus along with the rest of the Autobots too," replied Megatron with Jack nodding before he rose from his kneeled position.

_**"What of Silas should the man be there? Should I bring him here for questioning? Or do you want him to be killed outright?" **_asked Jack with Megatron thinking over that part with greater care.

"_IF _this Silas _is_ at the base, bring him here to me alive, and in a somewhat manageable condition. How you do that is entirely up to you and Airachnid," ordered Megatron with Jack nodding again.

_**"As you command my one true Lord and Master,"**_ replied Jack before bowing and then leaving the room.

"I'm not one to question you Lord Megatron, but...isn't it a tad _early_ to be sending Jack into the field, and with Airachnid of all of us here on the ship? She did do a number on his body after all," said Knock Out with Megatron looking at him impassively.

"I need young Jack to embrace the Decepticon cause immediately if we are to ensure he willingly does what I command him to do. The program in his head may work now, but the Nanomachines in his body may try to remove it, and the only way to prevent such a thing from remotely happening is to make the boy fight for me as soon as possible. By the time the Nanomachines remove the program or it were to fail on its own, I want Jack to be so deep into the cause that his loyalty will not leave him long after the program that Soundwave downloaded into his head does!" exclaimed Megatron with Knock Out now beginning to understand.

"So even with the program gone, our young human friend will still fight for us of his own freewill. Truly ingenious Lord Megatron," replied Knock Out while Megatron let out a small chuckle.

"That it is Knock Out. I only wish Prime could witness the sight of his chosen human for a Prime," said Megatron, as he could only imagine Optimus's face when seeing the new, and improved Jack fighting under the Decepticon Banner.

It would truly destroy Prime's Spark!

(_The _Nemesis-Hanger Bay)

"I still don't see why we have to use my alt. mode to get there. Using the Ground Bridge would be so much easier," replied Airachnid, as she entered the hanger where the other Vehicons that could fly would leave when called upon, and her toy/slash partner on this mission walking beside the Decepticon femme shrugged.

The two of them made a strange pair walking side by side like they were partners when not that long ago they were something else. By the Pit, they should be sworn enemies, each one vowing to rip the others throat out, and tearing each other limb from limb in a fit of uncontrollable rage. And yet, here they were! Acting like they didn't hate each other, acting like one didn't torture the other, didn't blow up the other's ship, didn't side with a human terrorist organization to...well you get the point. Still, despite _ALL_ of this, Jack didn't flinch, hesitate, or cower in fear of Airachnid whenever she was around him.

And she made it her business to be around him.

At first, the Spider Bot wanted to intimidate Jack. To make the boy's body go stiff in fear at seeing his torturer again. But Airachnid found that her Jack wasn't afraid of her like she thought he would be when they met for the first time under these new conditions. Instead, Jack just gave her a curt nod, and some small talk, and never once gave off any hint that he was terrified of being within spitting distance of her form. It was almost annoying and irritating at times when she would smile at him in passing with the usual "I'm going to rip out your intestinal track when I get the chance" look she gave him.

But at the same time it brought about..._excitement_! Someone who was fearless while in her presence. Someone who wasn't afraid to be in a room with her for more then a few seconds and then leave while giving a lame excuse to why they needed to suddenly leave. Few had the processor or the ball bearings to be around the black pink femme Decepticon and Jack was in that small handful.

Airachnid couldn't deny it made her want him even more!

_**"We can't risk M.E.C.H. having sensors that can pickup Ground Bridges and prepare for an imminent attack. Just because their technology is not as advanced as ours does not mean they aren't trying to compete or they haven't been trying to create such a thing," **_replied Jack with his duffle bag (from Soundwave) thrown over his shoulder, and waited for Airachnid to transform into her helicopter mode.

"I think you just want an excuse to be _inside_ of me," countered Airachnid in a sweet and sultry tone with the cockpit now open for Jack to enter.

_**"Keep telling yourself that,"**_ replied Jack after sitting down and soon the two were off to head for the coordinates Soundwave had supplied before entering the hanger.

"I be sure to remember that later on when we're together in my room on my berth and you sleeping on top of me," remarked Airachnid with amusement in her voice.

_**"You kidnapped me from my room, laid down on your berth, and kept me pinned to your body with the threat of ripping me to pieces in the event I tried to free myself if I recall correctly Airachnid. Something about getting the 'Arcee experience' in terms of close contact with me?"**_ replied Jack and he was sure her helicopter controls glowed slightly to indicate that she was doing her own version of blushing.

"I just wanted to know what Arcee felt when she was in close contact with you. After all, you did ride her all the time, and no doubt gave my old _friend_ a nice wash from time to time. Your hands do have the ability to reach all those _hard to reach places_ we know Arcee loved to have touched by your skilled hands," countered Airachnid while trying to turn the tables on Jack.

_**"Perhaps. But those days are over. The next time I see Arcee, these hands that at one point would touch, and caress her form for whatever pleasurable experience it brought me will not be for that purpose. They will be used to rip out the Autobot femme's Spark and with her last few seconds of sight...she will see me **__**crush**__** it!"**_replied Jack coldly while hearing Airachnid make sound of approval at his choice of words.

"Its a shame we have to go on this mission Jack. I could set us down right now and we see just how _compatible _you really are to my systems," said Airachnid in a lustful tone.

_**"Business before pleasure Airachnid. We're almost at the coordinates. Set us down here. We need to discuss our plan of attack,"**_replied Jack while hearing Airachnid let out a groan, call him a tease, and landed in a woodsy area away from the M.E.C.H. base.

"So what _IS_ the plan exactly besides infiltrating the M.E.C.H. base and slaughtering all the M.E.C.H. agents inside?" remarked Airachnid after she transformed once Jack leaped out of her alt. mode's cockpit.

_**"First, I will infiltrate from above on the roof. I have a small yet powerful jamming device I had Breakdown give me from the Medlab earlier to jam their communication system. Once that is in place, you will tunnel underground, and enter from below to kill M.E.C.H. soldiers. Leave the one in charge of the base and the Head Scientists alive for interrogation. They might know something useful is being made or how to gain access to their database easier to see if any of their technology is worth looking into for the Decepticon cause to use against the Autobots," **_explained Jack while taking out the jamming device from the duffle bag.

"I understand the need for stealth Jack, but this is beyond the usual scope of what needs to be done. Why not kill everyone and blow up the base?" asked Airachnid with Jack shaking his head.

_**"We can't risk M.E.C.H. knowing the Decepticons are targeting them. Silas no doubt believes Megatron is too arrogant to go after them and is focusing on the Autobots. When we are finished with this place, I believe Silas will send agents here to investigate why its gone silent, and find everyone in it slaughtered. I want the man to know fear and there is nothing more fearful in war then knowing that there is an unidentified enemy coming after you. I want that man to know fear. To breathe it. To see shadows in his nightmares while knowing a living breathing one will eventually come for him when the time is right,"**_explained Jack passionately and it was clear to Airachnid that Silas had crossed him on a personal level by involving his Mother into this secret war.

Airachnid was actually kind of glad Jack's anger was focused on M.E.C.H. and not her since she had a hand in that event.

"So you attack from above after setting up the jammer. I attack from below. We meet in the middle," concluded Airachnid with Jack smirking behind his mask.

_**"Exactly. This base is secluded here near the mountain so security focuses more on the inside of the base. Not out. From what Soundwave showed us of the entire base, they don't have any kind of fence, but that doesn't mean they don't have motion sensors on the ground, and one of the reasons why we need to setup the jamming device so you can tunnel underneath from here. When the jammer is in place, I'll shoot this flare into the sky, and you'll dig underneath the base to do what you do best," **_explained Jack while Airachnid smirked and nodded.

"If the motion sensors around the M.E.C.H. base are there like you say Jack...just _how _are you going to plant the jammer on the roof?" asked Airachnid knowing the base and the woods they were in had quite the distance between them.

_**"How good is your throwing arm? Or should I say...**__**arms**__**?!"**_ asked Jack with Airachnid looking at him with a slightly surprised look on her face before she grinned.

"Let's find out," replied Airachnid before gently picking Jack up and heading for the edge of the woods before the boy mentioned one more thing to her regarding his identity when they got inside.

(Autobot Base-3 Days later)

"Prime!" exclaimed Fowler over the communication system Ratchet was working on.

"What is it Agent Fowler? Have the Decepticons attacked another military base?" asked Optimus with the government agent looking grim.

"I almost wish that were the case Prime. This is more M.E.C.H. related, but the Cons are definitely involved, and there is a new player among the ranks," replied Fowler, which got everyone's attention since they had not seen any old foes rejoin Megatron since the fight they had with Airachnid over the polarity gauntlet.

"Do you have some kind of picture or video we cans see to identify this new foe?" asked Ratchet curiously.

"Yeah I have one right from a security camera video feed from the M.E.C.H. base. And that's not all. The video feed I've got also shows a certain _Spider Bot_ helping cause a lot of damage to the base too," replied Fowler and that made Arcee narrow her eyes.

"Airachnid!" stated Arcee with Fowler nodding.

"Here's the security footage we were able to save before the system died. Its not pretty," said Fowler before transmitting the footage to the Autobot Base.

The Autobots of Team Prime watched silently, as they saw the security footage of the all out slaughter of M.E.C.H. soldiers being killed without mercy by Airachnid after she dug her way upward into the base. The solders were trying to call for help, but it was clear the communication systems they had were clearly being jammed, and were running around in an unorganized fashion. M.E.C.H. scientists were being subdued by the smaller of the two attackers. Some of them were hurt during the restraining process by the human sized Decepticon though _who_ it was exactly couldn't be determined due to the fact they had never seen one of that size before until now. Was it a Mini-Con? There had been a few back on Cybertron, but they were wiped out during the Great War, and by Decepticon orders no less.

So what was one doing fighting under the Decepticon Banner? Why was this one wearing human clothes?

The apparent Mini-Con even killed quite a few M.E.C.H. solders that came his way using brutal hand to hand combat. Even using their own weapons on them, which was puzzling since no Mini-Con would do that since they had their own built in weapons their enemies, or defend themselves from harm when in combat. Further study of the footage showed Airachnid actually _helping_ the Mini-Con in battle and that was even more puzzling since Airachnid _never_ helped anyone in a fight. From what they knew of Airachnid's history with the Decepticons, the femme didn't help anyone unless it suited her, and even then it was a minor save.

This showed Airachnid acting in a different way while around the Mini-Con.

_"Please! Show mercy! Stop! STOP!"_ came the begging voice of one M.E.C.H. soldier, as he was on the ground, bleeding, in pain, and at the mercy of the two fiends that had taken down the entire base.

_"What do you think Airachnid? Should we show him mercy?"_ came the voice of the male sounding possible Mini-Con to the femme Airachnid.

_"I don't know Ripper. We really should send __**someone**__ back to Silas so he knows that his little organization is on notice and Megatron doesn't like third parties in a two party only war. Still, you would think a soldier would be tough enough to NOT beg for mercy and show he has some kind of spine,"_ replied Airachnid and saw the supposed Mini-Con go over to the computer systems still intact to access the files.

_"How high up are you in the organization?" _asked Ripper while accessing the terminal.

_"I'm not that high up. This is a simple installation. Mostly R&D is done here,"_ replied the M.E.C.H. soldier and soon cried out in pain when Airachnid used one of spider legs to stab the man in the back through his heart.

He died instantly.

_"Then what good are you little man? To think someone like him is a M.E.C.H. soldier and considered to be something special among the humans. So pathetic. At least Jack put up a better fight when he was under my loving care. Isn't that right Ripper?" _said Airachnid while her words made Team Prime stiffen when she mentioned their friend in past tense and Arcee feared Megatron had killed jack while trying to keep it in the dark.

_"If you say so Airachnid. Bring this one over here,"_ commanded Ripper, as he pointed to one of several scientist on the ground, and the terrified man was picked up before being dropped beside the strange Con.

_"W-What do you want?"_ asked the M.E.C.H. scientist before he found a clawed metal hand firmly wrapped around his throat and giving it a tight squeeze.

_"I want access to your systems and all the technology you've been researching here. Lord Megatron might find it useful once given the proper upgrades. You can either give me the means to access the system or I kill you before seeking another of your fellow scientists here to take your place as a complying prisoner,"_ commanded Ripper before moving the man's head to the computer system and watched carefully as the scientist complied with his wishes.

_"So commanding Ripper. Its no wonder Lord Megatron chose you personally for this mission," _Airachnid remarked while Ripper looked at her for a second before refocusing on the scientist.

_"We both know that's the not the real reason Airachnid," _replied Ripper before seeing the scientist finally succeeding in opening up all the files regarding their technology.

_"I-Its done,"_ replied the M.E.C.H. scientists before he let out a gasp of pain and looked down to see the arm of his captor stabbing through his torso.

_"Thank you. Your services are no longer needed," _replied Ripper before ripping out the man's intestinal track to the shock of Team Prime.

_"You bastard! He gave you what you wanted!" _exclaimed one scientist before Ripper turned his masked face to him with the eyes of the supposed Mini-Con glowing red for a second.

_"Do not make yourself out to be so high and mighty you fool. I know full well that if roles were reversed, your leader Silas would have given the order to one of his soldiers. Unlike him, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty to get what I want when the time comes to stain them bloody," _replied Ripper before pulling out a cord from his left hand and plugged it into the computer.

A moment later, Ripper looked up from the terminal to where the camera was, and then with simple press of the button the computer terminal...it went dead.

"That's all we have on them. All the other cameras were killed from that terminal or they were destroyed by the two. When my boys arrived there, the bodies were all over the place, blood staining everything, and everyone around us. It was like something out of a horror movie," explained Fowler with Optimus narrowing his optics.

"How did you find out about the base? Did Silas not send his own team to investigate the matter?" asked Optimus with Fowler shaking his head.

"The video feed was sent to my office at the Pentagon. From what I can tell, this new guy that joined the Decepticon ranks wanted us to know about the base before Silas did. I have my own team in place to ambush any M.E.C.H. agents Silas sends to look into it and with any luck they will nab some that know where the leader of the organization is hiding out. Now what can you tell me about this new guy? An old running buddy of the unfriendly Spider Bot from your war?" said Fowler while Optimus and the others shook their head no.

"No. Airachnid killed partners. She'd never made or ever consider making one," replied Arcee while still thinking about Jack and the growing fear of what had become of him on the _Nemesis_.

"There are no Decepticons or even Mini-Cons by the name of Ripper among Megatron's ranks before and after the war for Cybertron ended. Whoever this new individual is...he is not of Cybertronian origin," replied Optimus making Ratchet do another once over of the mysterious figure after rewinding the footage before pausing it to see the figure looking at the camera.

"He has Cybertronian implants in him. The claws, the mask, and the unnatural abilities in combat prove he's been enhanced specifically to be an agent of the Decepticons. His very mask is the Decepticon symbol from the looks of things, but other then that I don't see it on any form of his clothing, or what parts of his armor that I can see," Ratchet remarked while giving the image of the figure a scan from top to bottom.

"It feels like we are missing something. I can feel it in my Spark!" exclaimed Arcee and the fearless leader of Team Prime could only nod in agreement.

"So do I Arcee. Ratchet, scan the figure for anything out of the ordinary. Try to find out who it is behind that mask, and maybe we will learn his reason for siding with Megatron in this war," commanded Optimus with Ratchet nodding and doing just that.

"What else can you tell us about the M.E.C.H. base Airachnid and this new guy trashed?" asked Bulkhead knowing Fowler had seen the base in detail.

"Like I said before, it looked like a horror movie, and not one with all those cheap special effects either. Each of the M.E.C.H. scientists they held captive were all killed ruthlessly without mercy. Whether for information or just for fun is unknown. Even the M.E.C.H solider apparently in charge of the base wasn't spared much either after we located him in one of the more secluded offices away from the fighting. We suspect he was trying to get in contact with Silas when this Ripper guy made his presence known and well...let's just say my stomach isn't what it use to be after what I saw," answered Fowler grimly.

"They were clearly gathering information," concluded Arcee with Optimus nodding.

_"How do we handle this? I mean...M.E.C.H. is our enemy right? We don't have to help them...do we?"_ asked Bumblebee with Optimus looking unsure.

"I say let Megatron go after them. Maybe a little humility will do Silas and M.E.C.H. a little good. Who knows...they might finish each other off," remarked Arcee with Optimus shaking his head.

"Even if such an option were the best choice Arcee, I fear Jack would no doubt be caught in the middle, and I doubt Silas would let him live if M.E.C.H. was victorious," countered Optimus and his words made Arcee stiffen.

"Not to mention what could happen to Jack if Megatron was the victor in his war against M.E.C.H. and let's not forget this new guy could factor into the fight," added Bulkhead with Optimus nodding since this new follower of Megatron could fight M.E.C.H. with the playing field being on more even terms for the Decepticons to win.

"For now, we will do nothing regarding this matter unless its absolutely necessary that we step in. Our main concern at this point is recovering Jack and our continued protecting of the other children along with Jack's Mother in the event they are also targeted for what they may know to use against us," replied Optimus knowing that with this new agent of the Decepticons...nothing could be left to chance.

"I hate sitting on my aft and doing nothing," remarked Arcee though she could tell the others agreed.

"I don't like it either, but until we can identify this new Decepticon recruit, the choice in the matter isn't really your to decide, and I have to continue using my own connections to see if Janus can be temporarily moved to a secure location to get a sit down," explained Fowler since he was going through a lot of red tape to make that happen.

"How is June doing?" asked Optimus with concern for the human femme that was Jack's Mother.

"I checked in with her about an hour ago. June's holding on, but just barely, and I don't need to remind you of what we know that she doesn't, and can't tell her about until the time is right," answered Fowler and saw Optimus nod.

"Be on your guard Agent Fowler. If this new Decepticon ally knows where to send you information, then its safe to say he knows how to reach you personally, and may try to kidnap you if ordered to by Megatron," stated Optimus with Fowler nodding.

"I've already relocated my office at the Pentagon to a more secure location. Only a few high ranking Generals besides the one I report to will know about it. Plus, I've relocated my own place of residents to a safe house even known to an even fewer people. I'll send you the coordinates to where it is the next time we meet in person," answered Fowler, as he knew Soundwave could possibly intercept this transmission, and the location of his safe house.

With his piece said, Fowler ended the transmission, and left Team Prime to think what they would have to do next in the war against Megatron. Realistically, the team was sadly outnumbered, outgunned, and found that even some of the humans on this planet were not all friends. M.E.C.H. and Silas were proof of that time and time again with those in the organization being just like the Decepticons. Optimus saw a lot of Megatron in Silas just like he saw a lot of himself in Jack during the boy's time at the base or on a mission that required his assistance. Up until recently things had become a repeat of history of what had befallen his world now had befallen the human's, only it was different in several ways, and with different circumstances. But the pieces were all there waiting for the right moment, the right instance where they would come together, and react violently into a war that would escalate if left unchecked.

"Optimus, I need to talk to you in private. Its about what I have learned so far regarding Megatron's newest recruit, but this is something the others can't hear just yet," whispered Ratchet to the Autobot Leader.

"Arcee. Bulkhead. I need you to go out in search for energon. Bumblebee, I need you to go pick up Miko, and Raf from school before bringing them back here," ordered Optimus with the trio looking at him in surprise, then each other before nodding, and transforming into their alt. modes to follow their leader's instructions.

"Optimus, I did a nonstop scan of our newest foe while you were talking to Agent Fowler moments ago, and I'm not liking the results. I used the video of him fighting and focused on anything in particular that would help learn the identity of Megatron's newest recruit. Sadly, I think I know who it is, but like I mentioned earlier...I'm a bit hesitant to give my answer with the others around, and not just because the evidence gathered would be all circumstantial," replied Ratchet before bringing up the screen that showed the figure of the one Airachnid called "Ripper" in the security video.

"What did you learn old friend?" asked Optimus while dreading the answer.

"Remember, this is all circumstantial, but from the evidence I've gathered from the video, and scanned through the system...this new 'Con' if you will is human. Of that much I was able to determine through his actions, the fact he's wearing clothing, and the fact there is natural human flesh along the neck line despite his best efforts to hide it. I also looked for markings on the exposed skin to see if there was anything there, and what I saw shocked me all the way into my Spark Chamber," replied Ratchet before bringing up a scene from the security video of Ripper having a piece of his trench coat burned along his right arm from an explosion that got a little to close for comfort.

It also burned away some of the clothing for that arm and revealed the flesh there was scarred from signs of abuse. Not just from the newly acquired burns on the flesh, but scar tissue along the arm like it had been cut into deeply, and with something not of human design. Optimus studied the old yet still fresh looking injury on the arm, his countless years of being in war with the Decepticons gave him the knowledge of whoever did this to Megatron's newest subordinate, and his optics widened in surprise.

"These scars on the arm are of someone who was tortured by Airachnid," stated Optimus with Ratchet nodding in agreement.

"I ran them through our database and there were several rare instance on Cybertron where Autobots suffered similar scars on their bodies after encountering Airachnid. Arcee being among those examples we had on file and I even did a cross referenced with the humans that may have suffered at her hands in secret since being here on Earth. There are quite a few of them with similar injuries and if you'll forgive me for saying this Optimus...there is only one human Megatron has in his possession that Airachnid would keep alive for this long with those kind of scars," explained Ratchet with his leader looking away from the screen.

"Jack," was Optimus's only reply.

"We have to consider the possibility that Megatron did this to Jack. That this 'Ripper' is none other then Jack himself after being twisted and turned by Megatron's hands. This new threat is the same height as Jack, the scars we saw on his arm are ones Airachnid would leave, and let's not forget other ones she no doubt left on Jack that are covering the rest of his body thanks to her. If we can capture him long enough for me to examine his body, I can figure out what Megatron did to Jack, and possibly reverse it," stated Ratchet while Optimus closed his optics and digested this new information.

"For once Ratchet...I pray you are wrong that this new subordinate of Megatron is Jack. The news itself would break the hearts of Miko, Raf, and Arcee's Spark while destroying the spirit of his femme sire June," replied Optimus and turned to see Ratchet nodding.

"So am I Optimus. I'll gladly admit I was wrong should that be the case. However, if I am not...then it might be imperative that a new location for our base be established sooner in the event of a possible attack by the Decepticon Warship," explained Ratchet since there was a chance Jack told them about the base and it wouldn't be long before Megatron's massive Warship came to bombard it until there was nothing left.

"I do not believe that Jackson has told Megatron our location. If the boy is serving the Decepticons now, he would have told their leader the moment he pledged his loyalty to him long before this moment with the M.E.C.H. base he attacked with Airachnid. If he is serving Megatron, it is not with all his being, and his sudden loyalty to the Decepticon cause might not be engraved into his mind as deeply as his new Master would no doubt like to believe," answered Optimus with resolve in his voice.

"I hope you are right in that regard Optimus. While I wish to believe turning Jack back from the _thing_ he is now, I will not be so naive to embrace it, and try to resolve things with words in the event we encounter him in battle. _THAT _is Megatron's eventual goal when it comes to Jack. To be used as a weapon against us," stated Ratchet knowing it was a mind game aimed at Team Prime and Megatron was playing it rather well.

"If Jack cannot be reasoned with simply using words...I will do what I must to free him from his unknowing enslavement. Even if it means freeing Jack's spirit from his _body_," said Optimus knowing that the only way to free Jack from Megatron's grip as a last resort would be to end the boy's life.

Again...it would be a _last resort_.

"Should we tell the others when they get back?" asked Ratchet with Optimus going over the scenario in his head.

"No. The evidence is still circumstantial at best Ratchet. I will not bring dread mixed with hope to the others if told Jack is serving as Megatron's newest subordinate. We must wait in telling them this news until such conclusive evidence in presented to us that Jack is indeed fighting for the Decepticons," answered Optimus gravely knowing that the boy they once knew was possibly no more then a mere memory.

Something Optimus had feared would happen from the start and increased in belief once the hair belonging to Jack was delivered to them by Agent Fowler. For Jack Darby to be turned from a simple human boy into a monstrous figure now fighting for the Decepticon cause and for Megatron himself...it was almost too much for the Prime to process.

"Arcee will be devastated by this news if its true," stated Ratchet sadly.

"She will not be the only one," replied Optimus with the same sadness before taking out the Key to Vector Sigma and looking at it while the memory of the conversation he had with Jack manifested itself.

And if the Prime could shed tears...he would have done so knowing it was his decision to give Jack the key that doomed the boy to living this current nightmare.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

_**"You summoned me my Lord?"**_ replied Jack while kneeling before the Decepticon Warlord currently with his back to him.

"Yes Jack. I wish to commend you properly on the mission against the M.E.C.H. base you and Airachnid destroyed a few days ago. I was given a detailed report that has your performance being absolutely astounding when in the heat of battle against the human scum," answered Megatron before turning to face Jack fully.

_**"I did only what you commanded of me Lord Megatron,"**_replied Jack in a humble tone while Megatron simply grinned.

"That maybe true my boy, but that doesn't mean your actions taken to make the mission a success should be ignored! No. It deserve _praise_! As such, I am giving you a gift in honor of your mission being successful. Breakdown!" said Megatron while motioning the large bulky Decepticon to come forward.

_**"A gift? I am honored Lord Megatron, but I'm not worthy,"**_ replied Jack while looking from Breakdown to the Megatron and then at the item in the large con's hand.

A sword...made of Cybertronian metal.

"You are if I say you are Jack. I had Knock Out commission this for you while you were on your mission with Airachnid. While you are good at fighting in close combat, I felt a weapon aside from your hands would prove beneficial, and considering the violent nature you seem to possess towards your enemies when fighting...this will only enhance that fact considerably when in the field," countered Megatron and saw Jack take the weapon from Breakdown's hand.

_**"This sword...it is remarkable!"**_ said Jack in awe of the weapon while holding it in his hands carefully.

"A katana based designed Soundwave took from the country called Japan from their era of the samurai, who were from what I was told, served their Master with great zeal, and were great warriors. You will be _MY_ samurai in that regard Jack. Both in loyalty to me and the fierce warrior that will complete his mission no matter what his Master gives him," stated Megatron with Jack admiring the blade.

_**"I will wield it with honor my one true Lord and Master. As the samurai of the past served their Master with unwavering loyalty...so too will I in your service!"**_ said Jack while reading the engraving on the side of the blade.

_Loyalty forever given to the one true Lord and Master. To whatever end it may be in life._

Those were the words on the flat of the blade and the Decepticon symbol at the base of the blade right where it connects to the hilt.

"As I know you will Jack. Now go to the training simulator to practice using your new weapon. I want your skills with this sword to be as sharp as the blade itself!" commanded Megatron with Jack bowing before him.

_**"As you command Lord Megatron,"**_ replied Jack, as he left bridge, and headed for the training simulator.

"Jack is certainly coming along, hasn't he Breakdown?" declared Megatron with a smile on his face.

"Yes he has Lord Megatron. Made Knock Out throw a fit when he came into the Medlab dripping with human blood and needing repair work on his arm. He kept complaining about how Jack was staining the lab and it was difficult to get those stains out," answered Breakdown with a chuckle since that was funny to see Knock Out go on one of his vanity based fits.

"Nevertheless, I see from the detailed report Airachnid gave me about Jack further proves he is progressing well, and will go far when it comes to future missions. Who knows...I might make him a high ranking officer," remarked Megatron knowing that if Jack did keep up the good work in fighting for him it just might happen.

"And Airachnid? She's grown a bit..._attached_ to him," stated Breakdown with Megatron frowning at the thought of the Spider Bot having some influence on Jack.

"We will leave Airachnid alone for now. But the moment a competent and loyal second-in-command becomes available...I will ensure the position she has will be considered an _open_ position awaiting to be filled," declared Megatron with Breakdown nodding.

While Breakdown admired the femme for her dominating personality, she still made his servos shake uneasily, and would prefer not to have the Spider Bot around any longer then was allowed.

(_The Nemesis_-Training Simulator-1 Week Later)

Jack had used his networking systems to access the Internet to study the art of Bushido that samurai from ancient Japan and how they wielded their katana based swords. The sooner he understood the principles of Bushido, mastered the stances, and the moves, and the actions of how to wield this blade the better he would be able to serve Megatron. So he devoted himself to training here against Solidograms of humans Soundwave had been so generous to provide in terms of combatant his size though Jack knew he would have to fight the Autobot based ones later.

He spun on his heel, his blade raised, and came down on his next target Jack sensed was behind him. Only to stop when the target wasn't some M.E.C.H. agent or some soldier from the U.S. Army guarding one of the many bases the Decepticons had attacked to get the various pieces of advanced tech for their Space Bridge.

This was a Solidogram of his _Mother_!

Narrowing his eyes behind his mask, Jack turned his head sharply to the now chuckling Decepticon femme behind the terminal in charge of the training program and saw the evil smirk on her face. As if to prove something to her, Jack slashed through the Solidogram, and walked over to the Spider Bot looking down at him.

"What? Can't a girl get a laugh in at her man's expense?" asked Airachnid while Jack just looked at her with his mask.

_**"Since when have I become 'your man' exactly?"**_ asked Jack before sheathing his blade and turning off the training program.

"You know when Jack. Your pride just won't admit how much you enjoyed it," remarked Airachnid with a grin and Jack shook his head while recalling his time spent healing with Airachnid spending her time with him.

_**"I won't deny it was **__**creative**__** on how you made it even possible. Using a combination of such advanced technology helped make me see, hear and **__**feel **__**things in an interesting yet...**__**different**__** perspective,"**_ remarked Jack while Airachnid let out a sultry chuckle.

"Care to try it again later tonight? From the way your muscles are tensing, you could use a time of _relaxation_, and _affection _only my _hands_ are capable of Jack!" offered Airachnid with Jack again shaking his head with amusement.

_**"Everyone on this ship says you are one twisted femme for a Con, but I don't think they know just **__**HOW**__** twisted you really are, and what lengths you go for fun,"**_ said Jack with a chuckle and Airachnid did the same.

"What can I say Jack. You bring that part out in me more then anyone else. You have that kind of..._attraction_ about your form," remarked Airachnid with Jack letting out a sigh.

_**"You are insatiable Airachnid. You know that right?"**_ replied Jack with Airachnid giving him one of her classic smirks.

"Maybe I do. I thought that was one of the many things you liked about me when we are alone...and _together_?" answered Airachnid in a sultry and sensual voice.

_**"Keep telling yourself that Airachnid,"**_ replied Jack with a chuckle in his voice.

Neither of them sensed or were aware of that they were being watched by Megatron on Soundwave's faceplate screen.

"They are getting close. Perhaps _too_ close. We need to send Jack out on another mission before long to remind my new weapon of who he serves and that his loyalty to me is far greater then the various..._pleasures_ given through that of a femme's body or her _touch_!" remarked Megatron while narrowing his optics at Airachnid since it was clear the Spider Bot wanted to have some influence over Jack with it just enough to prevent the boy from taking his sword to her Spark Chamber if given the order by the Decepticon Warlord.

Clever really, but something Megatron was not going to tolerate since it involved his newest, and possibly greatest weapon to be used against the Autobots along with their human allies.

"Lord Megatron! We have received a Decepticon Beacon registered to one of our missing warriors," came the voice of a Vehicon on the communications panel.

"Who?" asked Megatron with the Vehicon bringing up the beacon's registration pattern before a picture of the Decepticon holding it appeared.

"Its Dreadwing my Lord. We are near his beacon and will arrive within the hour to the designated spot for pickup," answered the Vehicon while the Decepticon Warlord was surprised by this.

"Dreadwing? Now this is a wonderful surprise. Aside from Skyquake, he was one of my strongest, and most loyal of subordinates. Perhaps I will have a new second-in-command sooner then expected," said Megatron while grinning at the prospect of Dreadwing being Airachnid's replacement.

(Autobot Base-At the Moment)

"Easy there Doc. I need that arm," remarked Wheeljack while Ratchet worked on his arm.

"Its good to see you're back Jacky. We need your help big time since you were here last," replied Bulkhead and seeing his old Wrecker buddy back on Earth.

"Oh yeah? Why is that Bulkhead? Last time I was here, Starscream was in charge of the Decepticons, and they didn't know their front from there aft," asked Wheeljack and saw the mood at the base was much different from when he was there Months ago.

"Much has happened since your departure from this world Wheeljack. Megatron is alive and back in command of the Decepticons once more. His forces have begun to slowly swell with competent warriors like Airachnid, who I am sure you know is not someone to be messed with, and should be approached with caution," answered Optimus while Arcee stiffened at the Spider Bot's name.

"There is more to it then that. I can almost see the atmosphere in this place become thick with tension. Almost smell it. What else happened before my arrival that's got everyone feeling lower then an empty energon tank?" questioned Wheeljack with Arcee glaring at him for a few seconds before transforming and rolling out of the base.

"I assume you are still familiar with the human known as Jack Darby?" asked Optimus with Wheeljack nodding though it took a moment for his processor to bring up the boy's image in his head.

"Yeah. Tallest of the three kids right? Arcee's partner? Why? Wha-oh! _Oooh_! The kid got scraped...didn't he?" replied Wheeljack after recalling that look on Arcee's face was that of someone losing a partner and it was one the Wrecker himself had when one from their own unit got taken offline.

"No. Its sadly worse then that. Jack is now a prisoner aboard the Decepticon Warship and is being tortured for information about us. That was also several Months ago," explained Ratchet sadly with Wheeljack wincing.

"Ouch! That doesn't sound good at all," replied Wheeljack with the others nodding.

_"Megatron had a major score to settle with Jack not only for sparing Megatron back at a cave-in, but for bringing Optimus's memories back!"_ added Bumblebee through his many beeps, whistles, and other noises he made.

"Wait! This kid had Megatron dead to rights and chose not to kill him? Why by the All Spark didn't he?" exclaimed Wheeljack with Ratchet and Optimus giving him a glare.

"Because it is not something one can easily do! Jack may have had Megatron within his sights, but was taunted by him, and no doubt wish to lure the boy into his grasp before turning the opportunity to his advantage. Jack isn't someone who will kill just because the opportunity is there. He's not a Decepticon! Besides, if Jack had killed Megatron, then we might not have been able to defeat Unicron!" exclaimed Ratchet passionately towards the Wrecker, who was surprised by this, and looked at Bulkhead for confirmation.

"Seriously! Unicron? The Chaos Bringer? Here? How? Give me details. I want to know everything I missed out on!" Wheeljack nearly yelled while looking at Bulkhead and then Optimus while the latter narrowed his optics at him.

"In do time when we have it Wheeljack. For now, tell us what can about that Decepticon you were fighting," replied Optimus in a tone that made Wheeljack realize this was an Autobot you don't disobey when being given an order.

"His name is Dreadwing. The twin brother of Skyquake," answered Wheeljack with the Autobots nodding since they were familiar with the Decepticon.

"That explains why they look the same. Both even shared the same loyalty to Megatron," said Ratchet with Wheeljack nodding.

"Yeah. I've been tracking the Con ever since he took out an old Wrecker buddy Seaspray when we tried to rendezvous. Dreadwing blew Seaspray's ship to pieces with a proximity mine and I've been on the Con's tail ever since," replied Wheeljack with Bulkhead now mourning the loss of his old Wrecker of a friend.

"And now he is here. No doubt having somehow heard of where Megatron was located to come to pledge his loyalty to his one true Lord and Master," added Optimus knowing that Dreadwing was not someone to be underestimated in a fight or loyalty to Megatron being questioned.

Just like Skyquake.

"Now that I've told you about Dreadwing, can you tell me about this battle with Unicron, and how Megatron was crucial to taking the legendary being down?" asked Wheeljack and saw Ratchet sigh while Bulkhead deciding to do it since no one else wanted to with the given mood.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

"I have come to pledge my undying loyalty to you Lord Megatron," said Dreadwing, as he kneeled before the Decepticon Warlord, and basking in the warrior's presence.

"Rise Dreadwing. Loyalty such as yours is hard to come by in such times when many would question it. Especially those that follow me. With you here, we can inspire the rest of the troops to fight harder," replied Megatron with the massive Decepticon warrior in front of him rising from his kneeled position.

"It is not loyalty alone that has brought me here," stated Dreadwing with a slight sense of hesitance in his voice.

"Oh?!" questioned Megatron while looking slightly at Soundwave and then at Jack sitting on the silent Con's shoulder.

"I merely wish to confirm what I already feel in my Spark. That my twin brother is now one with the All Spark," answered Dreadwing, who saw Megatron turn to Soundwave, and nod to the Con to play the recording.

"It is true Skyquake did perish at the hands of the Autobots, _BUT_ it was not under my command that he fell," replied Megatron with Soundwave showing parts of the fight Skyquake had with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee...along with Starscream being the reason Skyquake was awakened from stasis.

"Then by the Pit, every single Autobot will _die_!" said Dreadwing ominously with anger in his voice while Megatron smirked at hearing this.

As for Jack, his mind was currently focusing on a memory he had of Skyquake becoming a dark energon zombie thanks to Starscream, and the problems the undead Cybertronian caused for him along with his former friends. Jack wondered why Megatron decided not to mention this to Dreadwing, but figured it was not his right to question his Master, and kept his own mouth shut on the matter.

_**"Things are going to get more interesting around here with him around,"**_ commented Jack to Soundwave and the silent Con merely nodded in agreement.

"And who is _this_ human _speck_ I see before my very optics that _dares_ to use a Decepticon like a chair while in the presence of Lord Megatron?" challenged Dreadwing while seeing Jack's masked eyes glow red for a second.

"At ease Dreadwing. Ripper here is a loyal Decepticon like yourself and has pledged his undying loyalty to me just as you have done," stated Megatron while Dreadwing just narrowed his optics at Jack and analyzing him.

"How can one so small and weak be of use to you Megatron? He is no true Decepticon nor is this human speck worthy of being in your presence!" exclaimed Dreadwing with Megatron frowning.

"Ripper is hardly weak Dreadwing. The human boy is much more then he appears and I will not tolerate him being disrespected even by you," stated Megatron firmly and it was clear Dreadwing was still skeptical of Jack despite the Decepticon Warlord's words.

"As you command Lord Megatron. Perhaps by seeing this strange human, who wears the Decepticon symbol on his head in action will help change my view of him, and see what you see in terms of his value," replied Dreadwing before leaving the bridge after giving Jack another side glance.

_Things are going to get more interesting around here with him around._

_**"Shut up Soundwave,"**_ said Jack knowing that even though Con didn't talk much he still found a way to annoy people when words came out of his faceless mouth.

"Enough Jack. Let Dreadwing be alone for now. I have more pressing matters for you to personally handle alone for me," commanded Megatron while Jack turned his attention to the Decepticon Warlord.

_**"What is your wish Lord Megatron?"**_ asked Jack with Megatron nodding to Soundwave and the silent Con put the boy in his hand before showing him images on his visor of a military base located in the Rocky Mountains.

"Soundwave has been more active in intercepting human communications recently and picked up that this military base here has possession of a new technology capable of bending light to make someone invisible. While still primitive by our own standards, I would rather this device not be given to Optimus to make modifications on, and improve its design for their own usage to use against me. You will got to this base, steal the plans before destroying what they have on file, and then take the only prototype they have in their possession away from them," commanded Megatron with Soundwave showing Jack what the device looked like.

_**"Is this a solo mission?"**_ asked Jack with Megatron nodding.

"Yes. I know it seems sudden given how you've only done one assignment for me so far, but I have duties Airachnid needs to handle while you are away and Dreadwing is still too new to this world to be of any proper assistance. We still need to act covertly despite the actions taken against M.E.C.H. and cannot risk the humans as a whole rallying together if several of my warriors attack the base. Soundwave will Ground Bridge you to the base once you have the needed equipment Knock Out has for you in the Medlab," informed Megatron seeing Jack nod and leap off of Soundwave's hand.

_**"I'll leave at once Lord Megatron,"**_ replied Jack before heading off to Medlab to get his needed equipment and then some since he would be going solo.

"That boy will go far in my army Soundwave. Its almost a shame his lifespan is so much shorter then that of ours," remarked Megatron to Soundwave with the silent Con nodding in full agreement to his words.

Jack the Ripper certainly had potential when fighting for the Decepticons.

(A/N: YAY! There you have it. Hope you enjoyed it. Not getting so many reviews for this though. Surprising, isn't it? Oh well. I'm still going to write and finish it. At least I hope to depending on how things come along in the show though I will deviate further from the second season storyline. Until next time...PEACE!)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-Diversions

"So the kid actually saved the world by not killing Megatron. Never would have seen that coming," remarked Wheeljack after Bulkhead told him what happened with Unicron and how the Bringer of Chaos was actually the very planet they were standing on.

And if Jack had killed Megatron in that abandoned energon mine...Unicron would have more then likely succeeded in destroying the planet upon his resurrection. After all, it was because of Megatron that Optimus survived being crushed by Unicron, and had a remote chance of getting close to the monster's Spark to use the Matrix of Leadership.

"Yeah. We all a lot to that kid. He tries to be the responsible one, even when Optimus lost all his memories, and the rest of us were arguing. Jack just...took charge! Almost like it was second nature to him," replied Bulkhead while his optics showed sadness in them.

"You think he was Wrecker material?" asked Wheeljack knowing Bulkhead had a good sense of judgment when it came to scouting in that field.

"Nah! Jack's not a Wrecker. He's a Prime in the making. Or at least he _was_ a Prime in the making. Only Primus knows what's happened to him on Megatron's Warship. The kid's at the mercy of both Megatron _and_ Airachnid," stated Bulkhead while silently glad Arcee wasn't here or else she'd rip out his tailpipe before shoving it down his throat.

"I heard stories and rumors about Airachnid's sadistic torturing skills during the war. Is she as bad as the stories and rumors claim?" questioned Wheeljack with Bulkhead just shaking his head.

"No. They're _worse_. Arcee was one of the few to survive, but Airachnid still left her mark by killing Tailgate right in front of her. After Jack blew up her ship, the femme Con took an unhealthy interest in him, and the fact that he's Arcee's partner is just an added bonus," answered Bulkhead with Wheeljack wincing.

"All scrap Bulkhead. You guys can't get a break. Maybe I shouldn't have left when I did the first time around," said Wheeljack with Bulkhead disagreeing.

"While I appreciate your emotional support on the matter Wheeljack, we cannot change the past in certain areas, and even if we did...there is no telling if the changed outcome would be for the better," replied Optimus though it was clear his words were laced with sadness.

"Commander, I want to say I'm sorry for your loss in regards to the human Jack. I want to help you take down the Cons if you can help me find Dreadwing and take him down for what he did to Seaspray," said Wheeljack knowing that Team Prime could use just about all the help they could get at this point.

"Given Dreadwing's loyalty to Megatron, you will most likely find your target onboard the Decepticon Warship, which we have been unable to locate since Jack was taken there, and have been searching for all this time," answered Optimus in the hopes of keeping the Wrecker within their ranks.

"I just need some time on the Jackhammer to make some repairs and I can find that ship in a few days for you," said Wheeljack confidently with Optimus shaking his head no.

"While I would like nothing more then for you to use your ship to find Megatron's, the sensors on the _Nemesis_ would detect you, and his forces would shoot you out of the sky," replied Optimus while knowing Wheeljack doesn't know how things are on this planet and would have to learn quickly.

"You! Hotshot! Do you know just how difficult it was to cover-up your actions? I had to jump through some _MAJOR _hoops to get that alien spacecraft away from the public eye!" exclaimed an irate William Fowler after coming down the elevator to see the Autobot that had caused so much trouble when fighting the new Decepticon.

"Excuse me?" asked Wheeljack while not expecting someone a fraction of his actual size talk to him like he was on equal footing.

"The public doesn't know about us or the Decepticons. Few humans know about us and that's the way we want it. We have to do things covertly or else we expose the truth to the humans. We learned a short while ago that not all of them are friendly," Bulkhead before telling Wheeljack about M.E.C.H. and how they were interested in dissecting bodies on both sides of the war to advance their technology.

"I've been in some scraped up situations before with you Bulkhead, but _this_...this beats them all hands down," said Wheeljack while shaking his head and smirked at his old Wrecker buddy.

"You and I know it Jacky. Just go easy when mentioning Jack when around Arcee. I maybe tough, but with the mood she's in...I like my aft the way it is right now," said Bulkhead with Wheeljack nodding since he had seen some Autobot femmes back on Cybertron unleash their fury in a way that he'd bet his ship it would make Megatron squeamish.

"Agreed," replied Wheeljack before hearing a noise from Fowler and the Autobot turned his attention to the human.

"As I was saying, the secrecy of your group is crucial, and your actions nearly blew it up almost in a literal sense for us. If you are going to be a part of Team Prime, you better do things correctly, and quietly so the public doesn't start going crazy," stated Fowler with his arms crossed.

"Got it. If I blow something up, make sure humans don't see me do it, and I'm out of sight when its time for cleaning up," Wheeljack shot back before heading off to his ship.

"Watch him Prime. I don't have it in me to do what I did multiple times. I don't have that kind of maneuverability. The U.S. Government can only do it and tolerate it to such a point that they will have to step in regardless of your opinion. Property damage, people dying, and kidnapping are just some of the excuses several high ranking Generals will present to the President in order to take this out of your hands. I can plead your case to him if that happens, but if the President of the United States gives the order to go on the offensive against the Decepticons in our own way...nothing I say will change his mind," explained Fowler with Optimus looking grim.

"Such an action by your government would only result in human lives being slaughter by the Decepticons. While their numbers might not be as large as the human forces of your world, they do not need the Warship to be in the planet's atmosphere, and can easily mask themselves from your scanners to prevent any form of retaliation useless," said Optimus with Fowler nodding since the Decepticons had technology the human race couldn't even begin to touch.

"That's what I've been telling the President, but if things escalate like some think it will in the future...he's going to give the order," countered Fowler with Optimus simply staring at him for a moment.

"I understand Agent Fowler. Rest assured, our team will bring Wheeljack up to speed about this world, its people, and how to keep his presence as an Autobot..._quiet_ when it comes to fighting the Decepticons on a covert level," answered Optimus with Fowler nodding since that's all he could really ask for at this time.

"Good. Another reason I'm here is to inform you that we unfortunately have another big problem concerning Jack," replied Fowler with Optimus's optics widening and everyone in the room now turning to him.

_"What problem? The kid's got enough of them right now!"_ exclaimed Bumblebee with Bulkhead translating for Fowler.

"The problem is a certain Five Star General by the name of Cyrus Ortega. The man is a real piece of work. The man found out about my snooping around when I went looking for the file on Jack's Father Janus Warrington. Demanded all sorts of answers and got them when he was debriefed on the situation regarding Jack having alien Nanomachines in his body. He wasn't pleased," answered Fowler before letting out a tired sigh.

"Why would this Five Star General be interested in Janus or Jack in the first place?" asked Ratchet with Fowler walking over to the lounge area to sit down.

"Because back when Janus was working on the Nanomachines, the Five Star General use to be a midlevel colonel in charge of the project, and his career nearly tanked when Janus went crazy. Rather then demoted or discharged from service, the powers that be decided it was best Cyrus was relocated to another post. The man managed to rise up the ranks despite the stain the incident with Janus and became a real bitter man in the process while blaming Janus for his chance to advance his military career sooner. When he found out about what I was doing, General Ortega was livid, demanding I explain myself, and held a meeting with the other Generals with me being put questioned by them about it. I tried to do my usual thing Prime, but...," answered Fowler before letting out a sigh of defeat.

"They now know about Jack's situation in being a prisoner of the Decepticons," finished Optimus and saw Fowler nod.

"They were livid Prime. Each one a mere five _seconds_ away from calling the Pentagon, the President, and every branch of the military to inform them of a human having become the first POW of an alien race. I told them what happened and how that you were already preparing to take the boy back from the Decepticons before they discovered Jack's secret. General Ortega has already started making his own plans for Jack and has already set in motion a protocol in the event he...well _breaks_ under Decepticon torture," replied Fowler with Optimus's optics narrowing at the last part.

"And what kind of protocol is this General Ortega setting into motion?" asked Optimus with Fowler looking grim.

"If Jack is found, recovered, and we learn he broke under Decepticon torture...Jack is to be imprisoned before being executed on charges of treason for betraying the human race. The General believes in a strict zero tolerance policy for anyone giving the enemy forces any information regardless of the reason," answered Fowler with Optimus and the other Autobots hearing this looking shocked by this news.

"You mean...that this General would want Jack imprisoned, only to be killed if he's given Megatron information _after _being scraped up so many ways not even Primus himself could know what he's been through? What kind of policy is that?!" exclaimed Bulkhead with Fowler shaking his head.

"I agree with you Bulkhead, but its out of my hands. The General has his own unit and they are all loyal to him. If we don't find Jack and prove the boy kept his mouth shut despite the punishment Megatron has no doubt inflicted on him...that boy's life is just going to end up leaving one nightmare for the next," said Fowler and it was clear the Autobots didn't like that answer one bit.

"He's doing it out of spite for what Jack's Father did!" exclaimed Arcee, who had come in at the last moment to everyone's surprise, and had heard everything Fowler had just told them.

"Don't you think I know that? The man has a mean streak that could rival the Decepticons and isn't afraid to unleash it on those he catches in his crosshairs. Fortunately for us, his protocol was altered to punish Jack if he gave them information willingly, and it won't become active unless the President gives the order," replied Fowler though Arcee still looked less then pleased by the news.

"That's not exactly reassuring Agent Fowler. Megatron could be using all sorts of torture on Jack to get information out of him. Poisons, mind altering chemicals, and good old fashion dissection by some of the most twisted Decepticons among his ranks capable of pulling it off without killing the boy," explained Ratchet with Fowler nodding since he was well aware that his time being a prisoner of the Decepticons was _nothing_ compared to Jack's torment.

"I know Ratchet. Just...try to get to Jack before he does break. I know the kid is strong and he has to be given how long Jack's been on Megatron's Warship, but...everyone has there breaking point. Either Jack gives Megatron what he wants or...," said Fowler and it was clear that finishing his sentence just wasn't possible.

"Or Megatron will end his life," finished Optimus with Fowler nodding.

"I need to get back and handle things on my end. Do what you need to do on yours Prime. Time is running out for both of us," stated Fowler before leaving the base.

"What do we do Optimus?" asked Ratchet with Optimus letting out a sigh.

"We must find a way to get onboard the _Nemesis_ and rescue Jack before those hunting our human friend are able to take him first for their own reasons," answered Optimus and saw Arcee was almost shaking with rage.

"Why? Why does this have to happen to Jack? If its not the Cons wanting a piece of Jack, its a faction within the human government's military!" remarked Arcee angrily while she looked at the Prime before her and saw him disliking this too.

"Which is why when Jack is successfully rescued from Megatron, we will _not_ inform the human government that Agent Fowler works for of Jack being back here with us until we deem it time to inform them. Jack will need to time to heal, recover, and reattach himself to the world around him that isn't filled with pain. I will not allow anyone, whether they be Decepticon, or human to punish Jack further just for being loyal to us when it mattered most," stated Optimus and it was clear to everyone that the Prime meant every single word he just said.

They could only hope he could deliver when the time came to back it up.

(With Jack-Few Days Later)

The military base was easier to get into then he originally thought. After a few days of watching the different patrols and shift changes make their rounds, Jack was able to get things timed down to the minute on where, when, and how to get by the guards. While Megatron and Airachnid would wish him to spill more human blood now that he had his sword, Jack wasn't about to just go in there, sword in hand, and go on some mindless rampage. This was a mission requiring stealth, finesse, and the killing be done only if he had to kill.

Fortunately, Jack had supplies needed to make the mission last this long, and endure the environment long enough to get the job done now. Something Megatron had asked about a few hours ago and the boy had explained the situation to him in full detail about his plan to get the cloaking technology with the Decepticon Warlord agreeing with some form of reluctance. It was clear to Jack that if Megatron wanted him to do it sooner, but the boy had reasoned with the Warlord stating such a sudden rush in the plan would risk being caught by the guards long enough to trigger the alarms, and the whole base would go into lockdown.

Jack didn't want them to figure out what he was after until it was too late and he was long gone from the actual base.

_**"Knock Out! This is Ripper, can you hear me?"**_ replied Jack on his new communication attachment the Decepticon Medic had attached to the side of his mask that would activate when the finger tips of his hands touched the smooth metal along his ear.

_"Loud and clear Ripper. What's your status?"_ asked Knock Out having been told to keep Jack's first name from being mention for now.

_**"Inform Lord Megatron I'm infiltrating the base now. I should be ready for pickup within the next...hour or so. I'll transmit my coordinates for the Ground Bridge when I'm ready,"**_ answered Jack knowing he would have to hide from any pursuers first before doing that.

_"Understood. When you finish your objective, contact Soundwave, and he'll bridge you back to the ship,"_ replied Knock Out knowing the silent Con was a Master at calculating the needed coordinates for making a Ground Bridge appear where it had to manifest.

_**"Confirmed. Contact Soundwave for pickup. Ripper out,"**_said Jack before ending the communication with Knock Out and moved quickly in the dead of night to his intended objective.

Moving quietly, Jack ran to the fence before leaping over it, and landed quickly before using his momentum upon impact to rush through the parked military vehicles in his way. Pressing his back against the nearby military truck, Jack waited for the searchlight to move past him before rushing to the nearest wall of the base itself, and began to use his clawed hand to scale it.

A good thing too because Jack was sure he heard dog's barking in the distance and picked up something with their noses they didn't like. Not even bothering to look back to check, the boy turned Decepticon weapon made his way to the roof of the base, seeing one of the guards there with his back to him, and quickly took the soldier out by crushing the poor man's windpipe. Putting the now dead man down gently on the ground to keep anyone from hearing what was going on, Jack dragged the body away near a large air duct before removing the vent, and entered before closing it back up to ensure no one knew this was how he got in. Moving silently, Jack used one of the abilities of his eyes given from his enhancements Knock Out put into him, and now saw things in an infrared setting. The human Decepticon warrior could now see the body heat of everyone in the base, as well as see the lighting, and just about anything else generating heat. Moving his way through the vent once more, Jack heard voices in an office, and focused his hearing enhancement on the office.

_"Damn it!" _exclaimed an elderly man, who Jack could only infer as a man of high rank, and might even be the commander of the base.

_"What is it sir?"_ asked the military aid near the desk.

_"I just got a call from the Pentagon. They want us to relocate the cloaking technology we just finished developing to the one in Texas,"_ exclaimed the angry commander.

_"What? Why sir?" _asked the military aid.

_"They feel its not secure here. Can you believe it Johnson? No one knows about this base except few high ranking Generals in the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs. Apparently, they feel this device might fall into enemy hands soon, and want it relocated before someone comes for it,"_ explained the army commander.

_"When do we have to ship it by sir?"_ asked Johnson.

_"Tomorrow morning. Our boys are going to rendezvous with a Special Forces group led by a former Army Ranger by the name of William Fowler, who was assigned by General Bryce to oversee the transfer, and wants this to be on a __**need to know**__ basis. Meaning the men we pick for this operation won't know until right before leaving Johnson,"_ the army commander informed the military aid.

_"Yes sir! Understood sir!"_ Johnson said before saluting the army commander and headed off to do other tasks around the base.

'So Lord Megatron was right to suspect this technology would end up in Autobot hands. Once its been tested, he'll make sure Ratchet tinkers with the device, and make all the necessary improvements while making sure he can duplicate it for Autobot use. Too bad for Fowler and the Autobots that such a plan will not come to fruition,' thought Jack, as he smirked behind his face mask, and headed toward the location of the cloaking device that Soundwave had shown him on his internal map of the base.

Another enhancement that had been made via surgery and a painful one at that.

Reaching his destination, Jack waited until the last of the military personnel in the room that was the lab area for the cloaking device before ripping the vent open, and leaping down to the floor. Looking around, Jack found the device, which looked like it was the half the size of his arm, and was meant to latch onto that part of the human body. The computer next to it was still on and Jack wasted no time accessing the system before he found the design specs for the cloaking device. Along with it were reports, expectations from the data, and just about everything someone would need to know about this marvel of human ingenuity.

After downloading the information, Jack proceeded to delete what was on the computer from the schematic designs to the data surrounding how it worked, and then smashed the computer to pieces to prevent anyone from knowing exactly what was taken until later. With his task done, Jack grabbed the device, but just as he did...the alarm went off, and it was clear his access to the computer had raised a red flag in the security system.

Cursing slightly, Jack heard the sound of military personnel rushing towards the door, the sound of shouting, weapons drawn, and clicking sound of the safety coming off could be heard. Not wanting to be turned into Swiss Cheese, the teenager leaped into the vent, and began to crawl back where he had entered. Below him, he heard shouting, answers being demanded, and answers not being given since no one knew how to answer them.

Making his way back outside to the roof again after reaching the end of the air vent, Jack found everything was where it should be, and quickly moved to leave. Unfortunately, the soldiers at the base decided to check the roof, and soon spotted him before shouting to open fire. Cursing again at his sudden poor luck on this mission, Jack ran quickly to the edge of the roof, and jumped while the blaring sound of the alarms could be heard all around him. Soldiers had gotten into jeeps, trucks, and other vehicles while several on the walls had sniper rifles to take his head off once they caught him in their sights.

"He's over here! Shoot! Shoot!" came one soldiers voice while shooting could be heard and Jack dodge right to avoid getting shot.

'Great. Just what I need,' thought Jack, as he increased his speed, and hoped to outrun the soldiers hot on his heels.

"How can he run so fast? What is he?" asked one soldier trying to get Jack in his sights.

"Who the Hell cares?! Shoot him first and ask questions later Private!" answered another one currently driving the jeep.

_**"Soundwave! I've got the device, but I'm being pursued by the soldiers. Lock onto my coordinates and open up the Ground Bridge twenty feet from my current position!"**_ exclaimed Jack while heading for the tree filled area he had entered a short time ago for this mission.

Naturally, Soundwave chose to remain silent in response before the boy saw the Ground Bridge opening and Jack jumped through just before a rocket launched from one of the more determined soldiers hit the ground where he had been. The shockwave from the explosion sent Jack flying through the portal faster then anticipated and the boy bounced on the metallic ground of the Decepticon Warship several times before he finally rolled to a stop. In front of him were several Vehicons, Soundwave, Knock Out, and Megatron all shocked to see the boy cutting it close with his escape.

"I take it the mission was completed?" asked Knock Out with Jack shooting his head up and glaring at the Decepticon Medic even if the Decepticon couldn't see it.

_**"What do you think Knock Out? I nearly got my aft blown off just now and I have a few pieces of rocket shrapnel piercing several parts of my back,"**_replied Jack while wincing from the pain and stood before turning to see Megatron looking back at him.

"How did the humans become alert to your actions?" asked Megatron with a frown on his face.

_**"I just finished accessing their computer system for the designs to the cloaking device before smashing the computer. My actions in removing every file pertaining to it set off the alarm and I had to make a quick exit with the device in hand. They got lucky when spotting me leaving the roof at the last moment and began to purse in the attempt to retrieve their stolen property,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron nodding.

"Go to Medlab and have your injuries treated Jack. I want a full report on everything after you have fully rested," commanded Megatron with Jack bowing despite it being painful from the shrapnel.

_**"As you wish my Lord,"**_ replied Jack and limped over to Knock Out, who picked the boy up, and began to take him to Medlab.

All the while telling the boy not to bleed over his paintjob.

"Make sure Knock Out looks over the cloaking device after he's finished healing Jack of all his injuries. No doubt news of our human warrior's actions will soon make its way to Optimus via his human allies," said Megatron to Soundwave with the silent Con nodding in agreement.

(_The Nemesis_-Medlab)

"You really should be more careful Jack. The shrapnel stuck in your body is not easy for me to get out given how they're smaller then yourself," lectured Knock Out while using tweezers to remove each one and had to zoom in with his optics to see them clearly.

Not to mention scanning for any he might have missed.

_**"I'll remind myself of that when running from the overwhelming odds of the enemy that was pursuing me with the policy of shooting first and then asking questions later,"**_ replied Jack while lying on his stomach and let Knock Out remove each piece of metal that was not a welcomed part of his flesh.

"In any case, you've impressed Lord Megatron quite a bit with your success so far, and it won't be long before you get a mission that involves fighting the Autobots," remarked Knock Out before yanking out a rather deep shard of shrapnel and heard Jack grunt.

_**"Not yet. I need more time in the training simulator room. I'm not ready to fight them yet. If I rush into things ahead of my limitation, I will fail outright, and fail Megatron when he's counting on me the most," **_replied Jack with Knock Out shrugging slightly.

"If you say so Jack," stated Knock Out and finished removing the shrapnel from Jack's body before giving the boy an all clear to leave.

(Autobot Base-Days later)

"Prime! We have a new problem," exclaimed Fowler from the communication screen at the base.

"What is it this time Agent Fowler?" asked Optimus.

"One of our military bases was attack a few days ago. A new cloaking device had just been finished and was going to be tested soon. I was going to rendezvous with the unit with some of my boys and oversee the testing in the hopes that depending on the outcome I could send it over to Ratchet to make some improvements," answered Fowler with the Autobots along with Miko and Raf looking surprised by this news.

"You have a cloaking device that makes people invisible? Sweet! When can it get here?" asked Miko with Fowler sighing in frustration.

"Uh Miko? Agent Fowler was referring to the cloaking device in _past tense_. Meaning someone stole it," stated Raf and saw Fowler nod.

"Exactly! Sources say it was the same humanized Con that partnered up with the Spider Bot responsible for the massacre at the M.E.C.H. base not that long ago. The army boys chased after him in their vehicles, but the guy ran faster then they could drive to keep up, and entered a quote 'portal of light' after possibly injuring him using a rocket projectile before escaping," explained Fowler and it was clear this new guy was becoming a big pain in Fowler's side.

"The Decepticons are no doubt going to improve on the existing cloaking device or make one from scratch using the prototype they now have in their possession," stated Ratchet and Optimus nodded in agreement.

"Such technology would be devastating in the hands of anyone wielding it for military purposes. With it, we could infiltrate the Decepticon Warship, and possibly rescue Jack while the Decepticons could use to find our base by following one of us to its location," Optimus added with the group looking grim.

"Is there anyway you can make your sensors can detect anyone using it?" asked Fowler while everyone looked at Ratchet.

"Well...I can try. Surely you have some form of specs I can work with to see how the device was going to work. If I had that, I could try figuring out how the Decepticons would enhance it, and make sure our systems are capable of countering them," explained Ratchet with Fowler nodding.

"The humanized Con destroyed the specs while at the base and the computer he accessed to do it. _Fortunately_, the army commander had a backup in his office, and I can deliver to you within the hour. The sooner this gets to you the better. The last thing I want to do is lead any of Megatron's forces to the base," stated Fowler knowing that could happen in the future.

"Understood Agent Fowler. We'll be waiting for you," replied Optimus before ending the connection.

"Is this new guy some kind of Mini-Con?" asked Miko curiously with excitement in her voice.

"No. While Mini-Cons did exist on Cybertron, they were wiped out during the war by the Decepticons," answered Ratchet with the two human children in his line of sight looking nervous.

"If this new guy isn't a Decepticon...what is he?" asked Raf since the Autobots had yet to really tell them about this new foe.

"This new threat that has joined the Decepticon ranks...is human," answered Optimus and it was clear the children were not expecting that.

"Human? Like...as in like us?" asked Miko seeing the Autobots looking at each other.

"But...who would willingly join the Decepticons?" asked Raf with the Autobots looking increasingly nervous.

"We should probably focus on how to stop this guy rather then find out who he is behind his mask," answered Bulkhead to divert the questions the children were asking since they didn't want to make them inquire too deeply into this.

Optimus had a hard enough time telling them the truth.

"O-kay. How do we stop him?" asked Miko with her hands on her hips.

"We don't know. Megatron has sent him on missions that don't involve him fighting any of us. Its clear our enemy does not want Ripper to fight us until Megatron feels he's ready to fight us," explained Ratchet with Miko and Raf frowning.

"But he can't take you guys on. He's human size! You're giant bots. One backhand or kick from you guys and he'd be down for the count!" exclaimed Miko with Optimus shaking his head no.

"This threat may not be able to match us in size Miko, but from the information provided by Agent Fowler, it is clear this human has been enhanced with Cybertronian technology, and from what Ratchet has informed me from what he's seen...they were all surgically done. Megatron has no doubt made sure these enhancements to Ripper will make him stronger, faster, and more nimble then any other human on the planet. To underestimate this foe serving the Decepticons could and would be a fatal mistake if we didn't take him seriously," said Optimus and it was clear the Prime did not like the idea of fighting this human foe.

Something Megatron clearly learned since being on this planet.

(_The Nemesis_-Airachnid's Quarters)

"Jack," said Airachnid while gently running her fingers down the young boy's back while he laid on top of her.

_**"Yes Airachnid?"**_ asked Jack, as he was enjoying the touch of the Decepticon femme, and wondered why she was being so gentle today.

It was so unlike her.

"If I were to tell you something personal...would you promise to keep it from Megatron?" asked Airachnid her voice gentle yet there was worry in her voice.

_**"Why? Do you fear he will use it against you?" **_asked Jack seeing Airachnid go tense for a moment and her optics not meeting his eyes.

"Perhaps. It is something that should be known only to the two of us. Something I only learned recently and I have to admit...it terrifies me," answered Airachnid and that made Jack look up at the Spider Bot.

_**"What is it that terrifies you?"**_ asked Jack with Airachnid hesitant to say anything to him.

"Airachnid! Come to the bridge at once!" commanded Megatron through the Warships communication system.

"Scrap. We'll talk later Jack. Just don't inform Megatron about this," said Airachnid while looking at Jack and the young teenager cybernetic human saw she was being extremely serious yet concerned about what she knew.

_**"Just this one time I will keep my mouth shut, but only because this is something that is so serious that it scares you, and I do not like seeing you scared,"**_ replied Jack, as he didn't like seeing the femme scared since it didn't fit with her personality, and honestly hated the idea of Airachnid being terrified of something.

Smiling at him, Airachnid picked Jack up, and put him down on her berth before giving the boy kiss on his face since it was in these private moments that her former prey would open it up to reveal his face. Sending him a look saying they would talk later, the Spider Bot left to the bridge of the Decepticon Warship, and obey the command of its Ruler that was Megatron.

'If only I could tell him. Who would have thought that it was even possible? Not me that's for sure. Is this what femme humans feel when they know something like this? How will it even work for me?' thought Airachnid, as she made her way to the bridge, and saw the Decepticon Warlord's back to her.

"Ah! Airachnid, how could of you to join us. Your time with Jack has not prevented you from arriving punctually it seems," commented Megatron while seeing Airachnid fight back the urge to hiss at him.

"What was the reason you summoned for me my Lord?" asked Airachnid without giving away the anger she felt for him right now.

"Soundwave has informed me you have been spending a great deal of time with Jack. Too much actually. Your duties on my Warship are slacking," stated Megatron while the Spider Bot glared at Soundwave currently standing to the side watching things play out while looking at a computer terminal.

"With all due respect Lord Megatron and I think Soundwave should try focusing more on the Iakon database we have rather then my personal life with Jack. Given Soundwave's infamous ability to hack into encrypted files with ease, perhaps its not my duties on this Warship that are slacking, and he should redouble his effort on the database," countered Airachnid and saw Soundwave pause in his work before glancing over at her.

If Airachnid didn't know any better, she assumed the silent Con was glaring at her, or at the very least would have if he had an actual face to show his displeasure.

"Regardless Airachnid, I want you to distance yourself from Jack for now. It won't be long before I have important missions for him to do in the near future and I can't have him distracted by your..._interactions_ with him," stated Megatron while seeing Airachnid looking displeased by this.

"If that is your wish Lord Megatron, I will humbly accept, and obey your command. If I may make a suggestion?" replied Airachnid with Megatron turning slightly to look at her.

"What is it you suggest?" asked Megatron curiously.

"If it pleases you Lord Megatron, once Soundwave discovers the means to decoding the remainder of the Iakon database, as we know he will, I would suggest the deployment of an underutilized asset," stated Airachnid with her tone not giving away the anger she felt towards the Warlord, but only because this was possibly her one chance to be in position to leave his ranks, and hide away for a time.

"And what asset would that be Airachnid?" asked Megatron with a hint of curiosity.

"I believe my superior tracking skills would expedite your quest to recover the remaining relics," answered Airachnid, as she now kneeled from her current position, and kept her head down.

"Noted," was Megatron's response to her suggestion.

"You are a gracious audience my Lord. Soundwave," replied Airachnid before leaving the bridge.

"Remind me of her trustworthiness," commented Megatron to Soundwave, who walked over to the Decepticon Warlord, and played back a recording of words spoken by her not that long ago.

_I believe we must consider the possibility of a future...**without** Megatron._

"And I think we must consider the possibility of a future..._without_ Airachnid," replied Megatron with Soundwave nodding since he understood what the Warlord meant.

It was time to cut the Spider Bot loose from her hold on the ship and Jack..._permanently_!

(Sometime Later)

"Am I the only one thinking this is overkill on Lord Megatron's part? I mean dispatching _two_ of his most _proficient _warriors to track down _one_ unconfirmed energon spike? Don't you agree Dreadwing?" asked Airachnid while Dreadwing remained silent at her question regarding their orders.

"Lord Megatron knows that me and Dreadwing here will get the job done Airachnid. We don't have human toys to distract us," answered Breakdown, who had been recruited by Dreadwing for this assignment, and the bulky Decepticon was itching to crush the bug.

"Actually, I was referring to Dreadwing, and myself," countered Airachnid calmly while Breakdown snarled at her, and moved to smash the Spider Bot's face in had Dreadwing not restrained him.

"Breakdown, remain on task. This must be a _unified_ effort," reminded Dreadwing with a hidden tone to his words so that one eyed Deception understood that only together could they complete the _real mission_ Megatron had assigned them.

"Indeed Breakdown. I know we've never seen eyes-to-eye, but it doesn't mean we can't _patch_ things up," replied Airachnid with a wink to further spite the Decepticon over the loss of his eye.

Which was enough to set Breakdown off.

"THAT'S IT!" yelled Breakdown, as he wasn't going to tolerate Airachnid anymore, and charged the femme Decepticon.

"Don't!" commanded Dreadwing, as he was seeing this entire situation turn against him, and saw Airachnid was more then ready for fight.

Airachnid quickly jumped back, transforming into her spider like mode, and then shot webbing Breakdown's face. The webbing hit him dead on, now blinded by the substance, and unable to pursue the femme in battle. With Breakdown now temporarily out of the fight, Dreadwing launched his own attack with his cannon, and Airachnid was in the trees making sure she had plenty of room to maneuver. Still, Dreadwing was known for his accuracy in shooting just as Airachnid was known for dodging those shooting at her, and one of his energy blast his the tree she was on with enough force to send it falling.

By this point, Breakdown had freed his face of the Spider Bot's webbing, and moved to take Airachnid down while ignoring Dreadwing currently pinned to the tree at the last possible moment by their femme foe. Airachnid herself was injured, the loss of one of the spider limbs laying right in front of her, and she was leaking energon from it. Breakdown snarled at Airachnid, as he brought out his shoulder cannon, and began blasting at the injured Spider Bot now leaping through the trees in full retreat.

"ARRRH!" yelled Breakdown while charging after Airachnid and shooting at her the entire time.

"Breakdown! Don't be a fool! Release me!" commanded Dreadwing while struggling to get free from the webbing before Airachnid possibly returned to finish him off after she took care of Breakdown.

As for Airachnid herself, she was no stranger to pain while running through the forest, her damaged limb leaking energon, and leaving a trail for Breakdown to follow. And follow he did, as he moved in, seeing her downed, and weak form crawling away from him like the wounded Decepticon his one optic saw while moving in for the kill.

"Easy prey," remarked Breakdown with his hand turned into a hammer and laughing at the situation Airachnid was in.

'My thoughts exactly!' thought Airachnid when Breakdown found his weapon for an arm was caught in webbing and in a position where couldn't break free.

Within the seconds it took for Breakdown to realize roles has been reversed...it was too late to do anything...but scream out in pain before death claimed him.

And for a third party to claim his body.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

"You failed me Dreadwing. Did I not warn you about how deadly Airachnid can be when cornered? The inability to detect Breakdown's signal is all to clear to me on what has happened to him. So how is it that you are unable to recover his remains. As violent as Airachnid is, she is known for leaving pieces of her prey, and make others know of what she is capable of when crossed!" said Megatron with Soundwave, Knockout, and Jack there to hear this.

"I tried to follow your command Lord Megatron, but Breakdown engaged Airachnid in battle, and forced my hand to provide an assist to his efforts. As to his remains not being found...I cannot give you an answer Lord Megatron," answered Dreadwing while the Lord of the Decepticons looked from him to Jack when the boy stepped forward.

_**"M.E.C.H. was involved. Considering they're interest in Cybertronians in general for the advancements in technology, its more then likely they stole his remains,"**_ was Jack's answer and made Megatron's eyes narrow with his snarl increasing though anything he was going to say to his human weapon was cut short by a communication from the one responsible for Breakdowns' demise.

"Heard from Breakdown recently?" asked Airachnid mockingly to Megatron knowing he was on listening.

"Trace it" commanded Megatron to Soundwave.

"Seriously Megatron, you sent two cronies to kill a high ranking officer. I thought you did such things yourself _personally_!" taunted Airachnid while Soundwave continued his trace.

"Is that a challenge?" asked Megatron.

"An invitation. And since Soundwave is no doubt tracing this signal...you know where to find me," replied Airachnid before she cut the transmission.

"I'll be back" said Megatron while heading out to engage the spider femme.

"Allow me to accompany you Lord Megatron," said Dreadwing to further prove himself to the Decepticon Warlord.

"You already had your chance!" remarked Megatron while glaring at Dreadwing with the failure of his mission being the source of his displeasure before he was out of sight.

"And what of you human? Will you gloat over my failure? Are you pleased Airachnid got away and is now mocking us?" asked Dreadwing with Jack walking over to him.

_**"No. I will do nothing of the sort. Breakdown's demise was not your fault. Airachnid knew he had a short temper and exploited it with the end results being crystal clear,"**_ replied Jack and the two walked into the halls.

"And the fact you were _close_ to Airachnid does not make your loyalty to Lord Megatron waiver?" challenged Dreadwing making Jack stop and look up at the Decepticon.

_**"My duty and loyalty is to Megatron just like you Dreadwing. Just because I enjoyed spending time with Airachnid does not mean I will waiver when it is time to serve the one true Lord and Master when called upon. You may not like me Dreadwing, but we can at least respect one another for our loyalty to Megatron, and trust each other to never betray him,"**_ answered Jack before walking away from the Decepticon looking at him with an almost appraising look.

"Perhaps there is more to this enhanced human Megatron favors then I originally thought he was," said Dreadwing to himself since he had to respect the boy for being loyal to the Decepticon Warlord.

(With Airachnid)

The Spider Bot grinned, as her Insecticon warrior did battle with Megatron, the fight was clearly taken its toll on the Decepticon Leader, and it would only be a matter of time before she moved in to finish the job. She didn't know if Starscream had escaped her loyal servant's wrath, if he did, it was of no consequence since it was clear the Seeker was powerless to do anything to stop her from removing Megatron, and hanging his head on her new trophy wall. Maybe she'd give it to the Autobots just to show them that she had done what their Prime didn't have the ball bearings to do himself.

Maybe use it to make them get off her case and be with her Jack once she got him away from the Decepticon Warship. She had to since there was so much they needed to talk about and there was no one on the Warship that Airachnid could share this information with since they were too loyal to Megatron. If the Decepticon Warlord found out her secret...she had to fight back the shiver running through her body now while putting a hand on her torso.

'Who knew it was possible for that to happen? Not me. Nanomachines. _Techno-organic_ Nanomachines. Such wonderful things capable of doing extraordinary things,' thought Airachnid before seeing Megatron knock down her Insecticon.

"You and your beast would do well to remember—I honed my skills in the pits of Kaon!" exclaimed Megatron with his blade out and ready to strike down Airachnid's servant.

While the two clashed below Airachnid, the Spider Bot was unaware of the Autobots above her, and seeing the fight she had orchestrated. In fact she was so into the fight below that Airachnid failed to sense Arcee coming at her with a flying kick, and was followed through with a throw into the wall.

"You!" snarled Airachnid, as she didn't expect to see Arcee here, or the other Autobots while the blue femme drew her arm blades.

"You were expecting Unicron?" asked Arcee, as she charged at Airachnid, and the two began to fight with the Spider Bot going on the defensive while heading for the exit after the rest of Team Prime leaped down to confront Megatron.

Normally, Airachnid would enjoy fighting Arcee, but at the moment she was injured, still leaking some energon, and...her secret was at risk of being destroyed by the blue femme if a critical hit was made. Deciding to retreat, Airachnid got out of the now crowded cave, and Arcee was in hot pursuit.

"Honestly Arcee, you should really go back to help Prime finish off Megatron, and land a serious blow to his loyal followers," commented Airachnid while quickly dodging the energy blasts Arcee was shooting at her.

"Optimus doesn't need me to handle Megatron!" Arcee exclaimed while trying her best to get a lethal hit on Airachnid.

"That's not how Jack tells it," countered Airachnid and true to form the blue femme was filled with a new sense of anger aimed at the Spider Bot.

"Where is he? What did you do to him?" demanded Arcee after losing Airachnid in the tree and surrounding tree filled area.

"Wouldn't you like to know. I will say this for _MY_ Jack, he's very strong, and tough for a human so young. I can see why you care about him so much Arcee. Its actually a shame what happened to him when Jack refused to give Megatron what he wanted," remarked Airachnid and it made Arcee freeze for a moment at what she was implying.

"Don't try to play games Airachnid? Megatron didn't kill Jack. He would have bragged about it to Optimus by now," stated Arcee, as she looked around for her target, and soon found herself hanging upside down while webbed up to her neck.

"He might as well have killed Jack with all the horrors that have happened to the boy since his arrival on the Decepticon Warship. My poor Jack never was the same when Megatron got through with him. All that pain he took for you and the other Autobots just so we wouldn't know the location of your base. He's changed now Arcee. Megatron has changed him from what you once knew. I thought you would have understood that when Soundwave dropped off Jack's human hair at his Mother's doorstep. How is June by the way?" replied Airachnid with a smile on her face and saw the struggling Autobot femme glaring at her.

"You'll never get her. Neither will Megatron!" Arcee declared in a defiant tone.

"I don't want to go after poor June. At least not yet anyway. She's no fun to torment if I had her in my hands. I would like to see her again and talk about Jack. Maybe one day on better terms. The reasons being my own of course," stated Airachnid with her smile now increasing.

"How do we get on Megatron's Warship?" asked Arcee with Airachnid's face inches from hers.

"That would be telling. _But_ since you care for Jack, I'm going to tell you a little secret, and you're not going to like it," replied Airachnid before leaning in closer to whisper into Arcee's ear before being blasted away by a rocket hitting the ground underneath her feet.

Courtesy of Starscream.

"Payback is indeed sweet!" exclaimed Starscream with Airachnid deciding to cut her losses and dig herself a means to retreat.

"Another time perhaps Arcee. Maybe then I'll tell you about all the time Jack and I spent together," replied Airachnid with an all knowing smirk before she was gone via digging.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

_**"Dreadwing left despite Megatron's orders to stay here?"**_ asked Jack with Soundwave nodding while Knock Out was standing by in the event Megatron needed medical care.

_I do not trust Airachnid to fight fairly in a one on one battle. I will ensure that no third party interferes and Lord Megatron carries out her execution._

_**"I see. And **__**is**__** there a third party involved in this?"**_ asked Jack with Soundwave nodding before he showed a video feed of the Autobots leaving the Ground Bridge portal.

"This could be a problem," stated Knock Out with Jack nodding in agreement.

_**"We need to turn the tide of the battle and potential soon to be standoff that is to come. **__**Fortunately**__**, I have plan that will turn such things in our favor,"**_ replied Jack before he told the two his plan and how they were going to save Megatron while sticking it to the Autobots.

(With Megatron)

The Decepticon Warlord was victorious in his fight with the Insecticon, but at the cost of being victorious was to be completely drained of his strength, and in need of energon to replenish what was taken from him. As he was down on the ground, on his knees, energy spent, and at the mercy of Airachnid waiting in the shadows for this opportune moment to extinguish his spark...Megatron was not expecting Optimus Prime to stand before him. As he looked up, the two leaders of their factions locked optics with each other, and the Decepticon Warlord could tell Optimus was not in a good mood.

Not surprising since the boy the Prime cherished so much was in the hands of his enemy.

"Its interesting how I find history keeps repeating itself in similar yet different situations for me. I was in a helpless situation like this in a cave with young Jack once. He had me at his mercy, a drill aimed at my head, and all the human boy needed to do was drive it forward to finish me off," said Megatron in a mocking tone.

"Jack showed he is not like you Megatron," replied Optimus with Megatron grinning at him.

"Yes. That he did. I also saw a lot of you in him Optimus. I tried to goad him into using the drill, telling the boy you would finish me off if given the same opportunity he had," stated Megatron with Optimus narrowing his optics at him.

"Such a way of killing someone is the way of a coward. I would never do what you are suggesting Megatron," replied Optimus with Megatron laughing at him.

"That is exactly what the boy thought Optimus. So noble. So pure. Its a shame the boy you know as Jack...is _dead_!" stated Megatron with a grin on his face and it was clear the others were infuriated by his words.

"You lie!" exclaimed Bulkhead angrily with his wrecking ball out.

"Do I? Didn't the organic pieces of Jack's body that was his _hair_ reach you? I thought it would have considering Soundwave dropped it off at his home for his femme sire to see my _gift_ to her. No doubt she misses her son very much and would wish to see him one more time," remarked Megatron with Optimus's hand turning into a energy cannon and pointed it at him.

"You will answer for your crimes Megatron. Not only for Cybertron, but this world, and for the human boy you destroyed in your desire to destroy us," stated Optimus with his cannon fully charged and ready to fire.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Prime!" exclaimed Dreadwing, as he was across from Optimus, and his team while a large force of Decepticons were above them ready to fire.

"Dreadwing. So you've come to save your one true Lord and Master from certain death," stated Optimus with Dreadwing snarling at him.

"I do what I must to ensure the safety of Lord Megatron from the likes of you Optimus Prime," said Dreadwing with his weapon ready to fire.

"Should you attack us, I will kill Megatron, and the Decepticon's will be without a strong leader to lead them," replied Optimus firmly.

"If you do kill Lord Megatron, we will in turn kill you, and the last of the Primes along with your greatest of Autobot warriors...will die!" countered Dreadwing seeing Optimus weighing the situation in front of him.

_**"Which is why I propose a trade between both sides," **_stated a figure above them at the cave exit and everyone saw Ripper standing there with his sword drawn.

Along with the human girl everyone knew as Miko with his hand over the girl's mouth and blade touching her throat.

"Miko! Let her go!" exclaimed Bulkhead angrily.

_**"I will in do time. **__**Provided**__**, we perform a trade of our hostages. Megatron for the girl. While the value of Megatron is clearly much higher, we all know how much Miko here means to you Bulkhead, and the rest of Team Prime. I cannot imagine the pain you will feel watching her bleed out after I slit her throat with my sword and see her crawl to you in some desperate plea to be saved,"**_ replied Ripper and saw Bulkhead growl at him.

"Why you little...!" exclaimed Bulkhead while staring at Ripper.

_**"Easy Bulkhead. Remember who is counting on you to save them,"**_ countered Ripper in a reprimanding tone.

"Stand down Bulkhead! Miko is depending on you now to keep a cool head. The trade is more then fair. Don't you agree Dreadwing?" stated Optimus while seeing Dreadwing narrow his optics at Ripper.

The Decepticon was clearly offended by the fact that Megatron's life was equal to that of a mere human girl in this moment, but if it meant that the Lord of the Decepticons could be rescued from death at the hands of a Prime? Then so be it! With some reluctance, the Decepticon striving to be Megatron's First Lieutenant nodded at the Prime, and again at Ripper.

"Agreed. The human for Lord Megatron. Once my Master is allowed to rise and leave here alive...the femme will be yours once more," stated Dreadwing while Bulkhead kept looking from Megatron to Miko.

"I have your word that once the trade is complete we can all leave here unprovoked?" asked Optimus with Dreadwing looking at Ripper, who simply nodded, and agreed that was more then fair.

"Agreed," answered Dreadwing while the others looked at Ripper.

_**"Agreed,"**_ answered Ripper while Megatron grinned at Optimus while being supported by Dreadwing.

"Release the girl," demanded Optimus with Ripper looking at Megatron, who nodded to him, and then nodded back before he removed his blade form her throat.

Before spinning her around and stabbing the girl through her torso.

"NO!" yelled Bulkhead in horror with Ripper pulling his sword out and kicking the body down to them and the Wrecker rushed to her fallen form.

Only to reveal it was a Solidogram covering a human size protoform body.

_**"Oops! It seems since I don't have the real Miko our deal for a fair trade is now **__**void**__**!" **_replied Ripper in a mocking tone while Megatron laughed at how the Autobots had been deceived by the boy.

"That's the spirit my Ripper! Decepticons! Destroy Optimus Prime and his subordinates! Show no mercy!" commanded Megatron before he transformed and blasted his way out of the cave with Dreadwing right behind him.

_**"You heard him boys. Break them!"**_ replied Ripper before snapping his fingers and just like that an all out fight for survival had begun for the Autobots in the cave.

As for Ripper himself...he decided now was the best time to leave and let the grunts do their job.

_**"Soundwave! I need a Ground Bridge at my coordinates. Our mission was a success. Megatron is on his way home with Dreadwing. Make sure Knock Out is well aware of the price he will pay if Megatron's injuries are not fully repaired by his hands,"**_ said Ripper into his communication system and soon a Ground Bridge opened up for him.

Pausing slightly, the human Decepticon warrior turned his head back from the portal of light, as a strange feeling of something, or perhaps someone was watching him. However, the feeling soon left, and he walked towards the Ground Bridge once more.

"Jack Darby?" asked a familiar femme voice.

A voice that made the enhanced via cybernetics human stop in his tracks to look behind him to see Arcee looking with almost pleading optics.

_**"Arcee? Airachnid let you live? What she wanted to tell me must have been serious if you're still alive,"**_ asked Ripper questioningly at her while moving his hand to his sword.

"Is it you Jack? Is it really my old partner under that Decepticon symbol you now wear as a mask for Megatron?" asked Arcee while her right arm freed the blade there.

_**"What answer would you prefer Arcee? The lie you can embrace? Or the ever painful truth?"**_ asked Ripper with Arcee's optics narrowing at him.

"The truth! Or has Megatron have you so well trained that speaking has become utterly impossible?" countered Arcee with Ripper chuckling.

_**"The truth of the matter is I am Jack. Just not the Jack you once knew. Jack Darby...is dead. He died under Megatron and Airachnid's cruel hands **__**I**__** am Jack the **__**Ripper**__**! I am Megatron's loyal subordinate and your newest enemy," **_replied Ripper with Arcee looking pained and angry that the Jack she knew was dead with the decree coming from this..._abomination_ Megatron had turned him into.

She didn't want to believe what Optimus had told her a few days ago when the children weren't around. Didn't want to believe her partner had been turned, transformed into _this_, and proudly serving Megatron like he had done it for years. This was not Jack. _This _was not her partner. He was no longer her partner. No longer her friend. This thing before her was a Decepticon.

And she would have to destroy him.

She would have to set the real Jack's spirit free!

"No mercy," whispered Arcee with the Ground Bridge behind Ripper closing.

_**"Coming from you Arcee? I wouldn't have it any other way when it comes down to a fight between us,"**_ replied Ripper with his sword drawn and spinning it slightly in his grasp.

The two charged each other, Arcee swinging her wrist blade down towards Ripper, but the smaller of the two jumped over it, rolled under a kick the blue Autobot femme had followed up with, and jumped onto her arm when she tried to punch him. Running up the arm, Ripper cut into the limb with his sword while traveling towards Arcee's neck, and leaped to the other arm the blue femme used when she tried to swat him off, and cut into that one too with his destination being the spot that connected her head to the body.

'He's fast!' thought Arcee, as she feinted another swatting motion to make him jump, and caught him with that hand.

Her victory in that moment was ruined though when Ripper stabbed Arcee's hand holding him, and she was forced to drop the human Decepticon warrior. However, Ripper's feet barely touched the ground when his opponent kicked him hard, sending him flying back into a tree, destroying it on impact, and he rolled several feet before stopping.

'Ow. I should have expected that,' thought Ripper while getting up, shaking his head, and saw Arcee come at him in her motorcycle form.

Leaping out of the way, Ripper cut into her side, damaging the front tire in the process, and making Arcee transform into her bipedal form. She snarled at him with optics now narrowed at Ripper and the blue femme's former partner turned Decepticon motioned for her to attack.

And Arcee obliged him.

Ripper found himself dodging Arcee's attack, her size being more of a weakness then a strength, and his agility proving to be the opposite. Using his tree filled surroundings to his advantage, he waited until Arcee cocked her fist back, and dodged the punch she threw at the last moment. The blue femme's fist was stuck in the thick trunk of the tree and Ripper used this moment to strike at her right leg to force Arcee to one knee before leaping up to stab the elbow joint of the arm stuck in the tree. Both injuries now leaking energon and causing Arcee pain that she never expected would be deliver by her former partner. He moved up her damaged arm, reaching her neck, his sword poised to strike, and preparing to deliver a devastating blow to the neck that could kill the Autobot femme if left untreated.

'This can't be the end. Not like this!' thought Arcee, as she saw Ripper's sword getting closer to her neck, and saw him look right into her optics.

_**"Any last words?!"**_ asked Ripper while getting ready to strike.

"Yeah! Don't mess with a Wrecker and his human!" exclaimed Bulkhead, as he appeared behind the surprised human Decepticon warrior, and smacked the boy with his wrecking ball clear off Arcee's shoulder.

After Jack hit the ground, Bulkhead was soon upon him, smashing him again, and again with his weapon several times before grabbing Ripper in a near body crushing grip. The Autobot then threw him through quite a number of trees where he bounced almost in a violent manner before rolling to a stop.

"Bulkhead!" exclaimed Arcee while the Wrecker freed her arm.

"The Cons are in retreat and Megatron got away. All because of the jerk I just threw off your body. Though considering what he pulled Ripper got off easy," replied Bulkhead while supporting the blue femme.

"You shouldn't have done that. You know that Jack...," countered Arcee, but failed to go on, and saw the Wrecker glare slightly.

"As far as I'm concerned, after what he pulled in that cave, Jack Darby is dead, and this guy is going to get his aft kicked the next time I see him," replied Bulkhead in a deadly and serious tone that left no room for arguing.

"Don't tell that to June. She won't accept it," stated Arcee while limping over to the others of Team Prime.

"She's going to have to face the truth eventually Arcee," countered Bulkhead with the rest of Team Prime seeing the extent of the damage done to her.

"Then you tell her because I won't," replied Arcee, as she didn't want to tell June yet, and wasn't about to until the time was right.

"It is as I feared. Jack has been turned into something monstrous by Megatron's hands and the one responsible for the recent activities against other humans," replied Optimus gravely with Arcee nodding.

"He's become something else. Something that's not the Jack I know as my partner," said Arcee with her pained tone clearly telling the others how much this hurt her.

"We can still pursue him. I must have injured him when I threw his body off of Arcee," suggested Bulkhead while Optimus shook his head no.

"No. We are either severely drained of energon or injured from fighting our enemies. We must return to base for repairs," commanded Optimus with the others nodding before their leader called for a Ground Bridge.

(Elsewhere)

Ripper crawled to a nearby tree, his trusty sword, which somehow managed to stay in his grip the entire time had been sheathed, a mixture of blood, and what energon he had in his body currently leaking from it. The damn Wrecker's hits, and the throw that followed of him going through so many trees caused damaged to the human part of his body. It also made the cybernetics in his body not respond properly and were causing additional pain through his body. Stumbling against a nearby tree, Ripper struggled to activate his communication system to get in touch with Soundwave, and get another Ground Bridge up.

_**"Soundwave...need...Ground Bridge...pickup. Injures sustained...from...the Autobot Wrecker. Send someone to...to...my coordinates. Need...medical help,"**_ said Ripper, as he ran an internal diagnostic on himself, and growled when saw the readout of several of his internal systems were more messed up then he originally thought.

Thankfully, Soundwave was reliable as he was silent, and a Ground Bridge opened up before several Vehicons appeared. Without saying anything, one of them picked him up, and they entered the Ground Bridge to the Decepticon Warship. They took him to the Medlab where Knock Out was finishing up his repair work on Megatron's injuries and Dreadwing watching everything being done to their Master with sharp optics.

"Jack the Ripper. I'm glad to see you survived your confrontation with the Autobots," replied Megatron while being put on optic level with the injured human boy.

_**"Thank you my Lord. But I failed to kill my opponent. I was so close to achieving my victory I could almost taste it. Forgive me for failing you," **_Jack humbly spoke before the Decepticon Warlord while kneeling while in the hand of the Vehicon and ignoring his own physical pains.

"You did not fail me Jack. You turned the situation with the Autobots to our advantage and allowed me to escape. I take it you are the only survivor?" countered Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"Considering how Bulkhead was the one who ruined my chance to kill Arcee and the Wrecker was down in the cave with Optimus...it would seem that way my Lord,"**_ said Jack while keeping his head down.

"Optimus is not so easily dispatched nor the team of Autobots he is around. They are some of his fiercest warriors. The fact you nearly killed one of them was impressive unto itself," stated Megatron with pride in his voice.

_**"I am honored to hear you say that to me my Lord. When my body is healed I will do everything in my power to earn it once more,"**_ replied Jack while sensing Dreadwing narrowing his optics at him.

"Such a loyal subordinate you are Jack. Not unlike Dreadwing here. He disobeyed my orders to ensure I was protected from any plans Airachnid may have had in store for me. Why didn't you?" commented Megatron with the boy keeping his head bowed.

_**"It is not my place your orders. The only one truly capable of questioning them to a degree is your second-in-command and only when it comes to ensuring your safety,"**_ answered Jack with both Megatron and Dreadwing looking shocked by his words.

'He's basically informed Megatron that I am more worthy then him in being Megatron's second-in-command!' thought Dreadwing with Megatron smirking at the human boy, who stayed in his kneeling, and humbled position.

"Are you saying Dreadwing is worthy of being my second over you?" asked Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"Yes. He has the combat experience and unwavering loyalty that assures that there will be no further coups aimed against you. I am still very young and I still have much to learn before I am considered for such a position remotely close to that one,"**_answered Jack with Megatron letting out a chuckle.

"Such a humble warrior you are Jack. Your words hold true. Dreadwing is loyal without question. He will make a fine second-in-command. As for you, I am making your position that of my third-in-command so in the event Dreadwing or myself are not around to command the troops...you will in our place," commanded Megatron with everyone in the room, even Soundwave (through his head jerked motion) was surprised by this, and Jack kneeled deeper.

_**"I am honored Lord Megatron. I will do everything in my power to show I am worthy of this high ranking position,"**_ replied Jack while his breathing became more labored.

"Knock Out! My injuries are healed. See to my third-in-command at once!" commanded Megatron seeing Jack's condition was deteriorating before his optics and got off the table so the boy's injuries could be assessed.

He couldn't have the boy be severely damaged so soon in his tormenting game he was playing against the Autobots.

"I suggest you sleep Jack. I'm going to have to do some extensive work on you. How did you get these injuries anyway?" commented Knock Out while injecting the human with a sedative.

_**"I pissed off the Wrecker when he saw me kill his human. Or what he believed to be his human partner. He took it...personally,"**_ answered Jack before he was out of it and barely heard Knock Out let out a whistle.

"Ouch!" replied Knock Out before going to work in patching up Jack and even making more additional enhancements to the boy's body.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge-Sometime Later)

"The boy has shown remarkable loyalty to me Soundwave. He engaged the Autobot that was his former partner Arcee in combat. Had it not been for the Wrecker, we would have one less Autobot to contend with, and Optimus would be one step closer to losing this war," said Megatron to Soundwave and Dreadwing was there to hear him talk given how this involved him to a certain degree as well.

"The human boy shows much promise under your command Lord Megatron. Forgive me for doubting his ability to serve under you," said Dreadwing with Megatron looking at him with calculating optics.

"I don't want anything to happen to my human weapon that will cripple his ability to serve me Dreadwing. He will play an important part in this war and whoever has Jack in their corner could tip the war in their favor. I will _NOT_ allow Optimus or even the human organization that is M.E.C.H. take the boy from me. He is _MINE_!" exclaimed Megatron with Dreadwing and Soundwave nodding in agreement.

"As you wish my one true Lord and Master we will obey your command regarding the human boy," replied Dreadwing while bowing to the Decepticon Warlord.

"Soundwave! Prepare an intelligence gathering room for Jack to work in once his injuries are healed and to help coordinate important information to you. I need you to focus on decrypting the Iakon files while Jack focuses on the world below us to seek any other artifacts the ancients left behind that the humans have uncovered during their years living on this planet. If what I learned of his memories we have downloaded, humans have been mining this world, and digging for ancient artifacts long before we were created. Jack will do his own search for ancient artifacts we know of and see if the humans have been unknowingly successful in getting them for us. Such information Jack finds in his own artifact searches will be checked by Soundwave and he will show the information to me," ordered Megatron and saw the two nodding at the command.

"I finished patching the boy up. That Wrecker really did a number on him," commented Knock Out, as he entered the bridge, and saw Megatron turn fully to him.

"Will he make a full recovery?" asked Megatron with Knock Out nodding.

"Jack maybe human, but he's one tough fleshy, and from what I understand is in those years where the species is young so healing fast is a given. In about a week, I think the boy will be back to fully functional status again, and more then ready for Round 2 with the Autobot Bulkhead," answered Knock Out with Megatron snarling at the Wrecker's name.

"That Wrecker nearly killed my Ripper and cost me the spark of the Autobot femme for his interference. No matter. Make sure all repairs to Jack's body are perfect and add on attachable enhancements like the cloaking technology he brought back to us earlier. It may prove beneficial to have Jack possess such technology in the future for missions that require further stealth on his part," replied Megatron with Knock Out nodding since he did most of that already.

"The cloaking device will require a keen eye to look at before any modifications on our part can make it useable, but not to worry Lord Megatron, the boy will have it integrated into his enhancements, and with a little time will make our enemies number's dwindle," answered Knock Out with Megatron nodding in agreement.

"Good. The sooner the better," replied Megatron before dismissing Knock Out while his mind focused on Jack and the boy's memories that he had yet to access.

Jack's mind still refused to give him the location of the Autobot Base or where Vector Sigma was located back on Cybertron. Those blast Nanomachines would serve Jack just like the boy served him, but when it came to his memories, they were loyal Optimus, and to the Autobots in general. But the other memories from Jack's life were an open book to him and Megatron felt he had yet to see an important part of the human boy's life that could further help keep his charge loyal to the Decepticon cause. But what? Where could he look through the memories of Jack Darby? Where?!

The answer came in the form of Soundwave, who some Decepticons believed had a from of ESP, and knew what Megatron was thinking in certain cases. The silent Con's visor for a face showed from Jack's memories he had in his processor of a man who could only be the boy's male sire.

The boy's Father.

_Techno-organic Nanomachines._

"Yes. The boy's male sire. Soundwave, use the sample of the boy's hair we still have in storage, use our genetic scanners in combination with the human's Internet to do a world wide search for the boy's sire. I want to know who and where he is at this current moment in time while I look through Jack's memories of his early childhood. I sense something is there. Something dark and _painful_ the boy has no doubt tried to keep a secret even from the Autobots. A secret I intend to see for _myself_," replied Megatron while heading for his private quarters to see the memories Jack had of his male sire.

Hopefully they would, at the very least, be quite interesting to watch, and entertaining at the most.

(_The Nemesis_-Medlab)

Had Knock Out stayed in the Medlab or Breakdown not perished by Airachnid's hands to be on the Decepticon Warship to watch Jack's vitals...someone would have seen the boy's mind was not so stable as his healing body. It was raging like a storm inside his head. The blow by Bulkhead had delivered clearly knocking something loose inside Jack's mind to make such a thing occur.

As Jack lay on the Medlab's operating table, recovering from his injuries, the boy's mind was at work, currently on autopilot, his subconscious mind taking control of his dreams, and showing repressed memories of the past. The human boy turned Decepticon warrior twitched slightly from these memories of the past, which were nice at first, but changed to that of a horrible nightmare where a man cloaked in darkness, his face barely seeable was coming at him with a short blade, possibly a knife, his face filled with anger, and the intent in his eyes clear as a sunny day. The memory of feeling wave after wave of pain flooded his body, as he screamed, and cried out for this man to stop his attack.

(A/N: YAY! Another update. Super long in honor of Labor Day and the fact I'll be busy for a while that updating again will take longer then usual. So this will tide you all over until the next update. Until next time...PEACE!)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-Janus's Confession

Jack sat in his chair, in the new room prepared for him on the order of Megatron, and was going through the consol built into his seat. It was a massive room, a tall circular pillar in the center of the room with a chair on top of the pillar, and multiple screens for the boy to stare at while processing different things. His fingers were working with blinding speed that was almost impossible to keep up with if another human were to ever see him work while processing the information on the screen in front of his face. He was processing information at a high speed with most of it being garbage, as conspiracy theorist nutcases, who consider themselves "experts" regarding aliens were posting useless crap on the Internet. The World Wide Web was a truly a place almost without boundaries in posting information and Jack wondered why people tried posting false data? All they really do is discredit the actual thing so when people actually _see_ aliens in some manner, which was already considered extremely rare thing, get scoffed at by disbelievers, and the whole "boy who cried wolf" theme comes to play.

Jack never did like the boy in that story.

"Jack, how goes your search for any ancient artifacts on your end?" asked Megatron after entering the room with Jack scanning each piece of information in front of him.

Jack would have kneeled right now if he could, but Megatron had long since told the boy to stay seated in this chair to process the large quantity of data in front of him, and to just keep working during their eventual conversations. Megatron was pleased that Jack would wish to kneel before him, but the Decepticon Warlord would prefer that it not interfere with the various duties he would give the boy, and saw his third-in-command was busy at work in an almost possessed state.

_**"I have been going through the description of each ancient artifact Soundwave gave me and have been processing them through the Internet to see if humans have located anything similar to them. So far I have found nothing in terms of humans finding them first, but that maybe due to them being still buried, or the human governments that have them are keeping them locked away in secret bases few know hold them while they're studied to understand their purpose,"**_ answered Jack while seeing Megatron frown slightly out of the corner of his eyes.

"A pity. Still, I will not let this stop you from continuing your work. If you find anything of interest, make sure to send it to Soundwave immediately so he can inform me of your findings to confirm if the artifact you suspect has been found is in fact real," commanded Megatron with Jack nodding and kept on working per his Master's orders.

_**"Yes my Lord,"**_ replied Jack while nodding and typing away at the consoles of each arm rest that were designed to have him move things around.

Megatron looked at him a moment longer before leaving. It was clear to the others on the ship that he was concerned about Jack, strictly as a weapon for him to wield of course, after the damn Wrecker had smashed the boy up, and wondered if there was any mental damage. Knock Out had come back into Medlab while Jack was still recovering to see the boy's mental wave patterns were not stable for awhile due to the apparent nightmare he was having. When the Decepticon's Medic asked what it was about, Jack would just stare at nothing before he said, "Blood. Darkness. Pain. Lots and lots of pain. Followed by a strange feeling of...emptiness.", and the boy would say no more, and left shortly after being cleared by a slightly disturbed Knock Out. The vain Decepticon told Megatron, who confronted the boy about this, and Jack had assured him that the nightmare would not effect his performance nor would he allow it to in the future.

Megatron was going to hold him to that.

It had been weeks nearing a full Month since the nightmare happened without any further reappearances of them and Jack wrote it off as some kind of lapse in his mind. A mere fragment from the past that got around his control and trying to remind him of the pain a man long ago did when his mind still didn't understand why it happened. The face was clear as day despite it being surrounded in shadows, the knife in his hand glistening with crimson liquid that tainted the light filled weapon, a cry from a woman to the man, her begging him to stop, and then...the light coming from the knife shined brighter before it consumed all three of them.

While it may have happened once, it left an impact in his mind, and Jack had to throw himself into his work for Lord Megatron to make sure it didn't distract him further. Still, even with his work being at the forefront of his mind, the image of the man remained, and it bothered the young human for a Decepticon warrior that this man would be able to do that! Who was he? Why did he seem so familiar? Why was he trying to kill him in the nightmare? It made no sense!

Pausing his right hand from touching the console, Jack frowned in thought over this, and wondered if the man was actually a figment of his imagination? Something his mind had created while recovering from the Autobot Wrecker's attack on his body? Could it be that his mind took the beating he suffered by the Autobot's hands and played it out in his head with Bulkhead being the human coming down on him with the knife in the dream? Or was it really something else? Something from his past his mind had buried for the sake of preserving his own sanity?

Should he look? Perform his own search? Or should he keep ignoring it? Continue for the search for ancient artifacts the human race may or may not have uncovered?

In his mind, Jack knew that he should follow Megatron's command, keep searching for the lost Cybertronian technology left by the ancients that were scattered throughout the planet, and do what his Master asked of him. But in his heart...his aching heart yearned for the truth of what that nightmare meant and the more he delayed his search for the ancient Cybertronian artifacts...the greater the ache in his heart.

Until it became too much to ignore.

Moving swiftly to put this annoyance to an end and in the hopes of banishing it forever so he could refocus his time in doing what Megatron commanded, Jack brought out one of the facial recognition programs. He then uploaded the face his eyes had seen from the nightmare before running a cross check with every human database on the planet after aging it roughly a decade since the nightmare he had showed him as a child. If this man was from the past, he was well over a decade older, and his appearance changed from what he once knew.

Surprisingly, Jack's search had shown him the man not only existed, but he was located in a Federal Prison in Leavenworth, and the charges made the boy's blood freeze with the energon in him boiling. The charges were attempted murder of his child and wife among other numerous charges that were heavily blacked out from the records though that was done under the basis of National Security.

The man's name? Janus Warrington.

Why did that name sound so familiar? Who was he? Digging deeper into the man's name in his search, Jack found the man had been married, and saw the name of the woman who would become Janus's wife. The name of the woman, her picture, and the birth certificate listing the name of the child they had nearly made the boy crush his arm rest controls in anger.

June Darby. His Mother. _She_ had married Janus Warrington and together they created one Jack Darby who was their only son.

While this was going on, Soundwave was watching what Jack was doing, what he was accessing, and everything the boy had just learned...Megatron had now learned from him. The Decepticon Warlord narrowed his optics at this, as he did not expect Jack to deviate from his objective, but then again the boy was human, and no doubt the nightmare he suffered a short time ago was actually a repressed memory. One Megatron himself had looked at and realized the boy must have seen something quite similar when unconscious and was simply trying to find out if the man in it was actually real.

"Its almost strange how Orion Pax was like this shortly after he began questioning the lies and half truths I fed him. However, unlike Orion Pax, I know Jack the Ripper is still my loyal subordinate, and merely has an itch that needs to be scratched. We will do nothing for now to stop him since the boy is actually helping us along with the answers needed to the questions I have concerning his male sire." commanded Megatron while Soundwave simply nodded while keeping a close eye on the boy's actions to see what Jack was going to do with this newly acquired information.

As for Jack himself, he was staring in disbelief at the face of the man from his nightmare, and where he was located due to the crimes this...this...this pathetic human resided! He was filled with rage! Filled with blood lust! But above all else...Jack's mind was filled with unanswered questions!

And by Primus he was going to get those answers!

But even as his mind processed this information, Jack also knew his duty above all else was serving Megatron, and doing the task set for him. Even now, the boy had no doubts in his head that Soundwave was well aware of what he had done, and reported it to their Master. Jack didn't know why Megatron didn't come in here now, yell at his sudden act of treachery, and destroy him on the spot for his sudden diversion from the command. While Jack felt he deserved such an act, it was clear some deity was looking out for him, and had decided to spare him such a thing for a time. So with that in mind, the enhanced human, and now Decepticon warrior stored this personal data away into a personal file before continuing his given task.

(Autobot Base)

"_What _did you say?!" demanded June, as she looked at Team Prime, and their leader with shocked eyes while glaring daggers at Optimus.

"Jack is on the side of the Decepticons June. It is clear he has been in Megatron's service for some time," Optimus repeated with June looking like she was going to collapse and nearly did had she not fallen back into a nearby chair.

"This can't be true. This is some kind of nightmare!" exclaimed June, as she felt her entire world was spiraling out of control, and things felt like they could only get worse.

"We understand if this is difficult for you to learn such new regarding your son. We were all startled by when it became known to us," replied Optimus with June looking at him now with narrowed and angry eyes.

"And just _how long_ have you known? Days? Weeks? _Months_?!" asked June before she got up on her feet, glaring at the Prime in front of her, and Optimus looked away from the woman.

"It wasn't something we could outright tell you. The stress of knowing Jack was captured and being tortured on Megatron's Warship was bad enough for you as it was. What would you have done had we simply revealed Jack was now serving the Lord of the Decepticons with unwavering loyalty?" questioned Ratchet with June not being able to answer.

"I don't know what Megatron did to Jack, but its clear what they did do turned him into a real monster. He nearly killed Arcee and would have too if I hadn't shown up at the very last minute after our fight with Megatron's forces in the cave," commented Bulkhead and was given a glare by Arcee.

"That wasn't Jack. Not the Jack I know. That we all know. Megatron did something to him. Turned him into something else like those experiments back on Cybertron or what he did to Cliffjumper using the dark energon to make him a zombie," replied Arcee with everyone looking away from her.

"Could you reverse it? If he were captured and properly restrained?" asked June in the hopes her one and only son could be turned back into the boy she loved.

"I don't know. Maybe. It all depends on a thorough scan of his body and what was done to him. Even if I did know, I don't have the Cybertronian technology needed to reverse what was used by the Decepticons to create his current state. Earth technology is not exactly useful in combating Cybertronian technology Mrs. Darby. To reverse what was done to Jack, I would need the same level of technology the Decepticons used to make him what he is now, and sadly such technology can only be found at the moment on the Decepticon Warship," answered Ratchet with a tired sigh leaving him.

"And with it moving all the time its not exactly a place we can just Ground Bridge to at any time," replied Bulkhead since the conversation with Starscream regarding where their lost leader had been and the location was in constant motion came to his mind.

"Then we have to find another way in. Ratchet, has Wheeljack had any success in finding the exact location of the Decepticon Warship on his end?" asked Optimus to the Autobot Medic with the Bot in question shaking his head no.

"No. The Decepticon Warship is flying randomly over an entire planet. Wheeljack may have the faster ship, but he's also flying around at random, and let's not forget that his scanners are not as powerful as the larger ship. Not only that, but Wheeljack also needs to conserve energon since his supply is not as extensive as Megatron's own to sustain his ship," answered Ratchet while wishing his means to perfect synthetic energon would come along faster.

"This is bad Prime. You should have told me sooner about Jack. Now I have to go report this to the Pentagon and General Ortega is going to want to send his troops in to hunt him down," replied Fowler with June looking at him in shock.

"Ortega? Colonel Ortega is now a General?" asked June having met the man once for a little dinner Janus had with him at the house.

"Yeah. A mean one at that. The man's unit is filled with a whole bunch of hard cases. All of them being 'alpha dogs' in terms of personalities. Every single one in this unit come from different backgrounds where the environment was harsh and cruel with each one of these soldiers has developed a dangerous amount of bloodlust from the different missions they've taken over the years. They call themselves the Grim Reaper Unit for their high kill record they've been known to boast on many occasions," replied Fowler and the man let out a tired sigh knowing this kept getting worse.

"Can't you withhold the information Agent Fowler? Surely you don't have to go tell your superiors!" exclaimed June with Fowler shaking his head.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Darby, but if I don't report this, and Ortega finds out...at the very least my position here with the Autobots could be put in jeopardy. Ortega could and most likely _will_ use this as an excuse to replace me with one of his own loyal agents who then report what they know to him. He'll use the Autobots to hunt down Jack and destroy the boy instead of reversing what was done to him. The General believes in the policy of 'shoot first, shoot second, and shoot several more time before asking questions he doesn't give two dimes about' when it comes to getting answers. I have to tell the Brass one what has happened. At the very least I can spin a sympathetic light on it so when the time does come to decide Jack's fate they'll consider the procedure to reverse things back to the way they were," explained Fowler with June not liking his answer.

"That's assuming Ratchet can," remarked Bulkhead before he got an angry look from Arcee.

"Are you saying Ratchet doesn't have the skills to bring Jack back the way he was before this happened?" demanded Arcee with Bulkhead backing up away from her.

"No! But...even if you could fix the mental issue, there is still the physical one where he's possibly been altered beyond Ratchet's skills. We don't know the extent of his change on a physical level. What if the Doc can't reverse all of them?" countered Bulkhead with Ratchet glaring at him now.

"I may not have the most advanced technology in this sector of the Universe, but I am confident with enough time, and proper research I could reverse most of the damage done to Jack. I'm sorry June, but we both know there will be some things even someone such as myself can repair, or fix if its too extensive," replied Ratchet when he saw June look at him.

"Its all right Ratchet. There will always be scars no form of medical science can cure no matter how advanced it might be," answered June sadly knowing there would be scars on both an mental and physical level.

"At least I can use this to push for a meeting with Janus and maybe even get him out of the prison long enough to have his conversation here," replied Fowler knowing this was probably the only excuse he could give since no one knew more about the Nanomachines in Jack's body better then Janus.

"Do what you need to do Agent Fowler. We will prepare for Janus when here and a cell for Jack upon his capture," answered Optimus with the government agent nodding and heading up to the roof.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

"Do you know why I've called you here Jack?" asked Megatron with the boy kneeling in his presence just like always.

_**"Yes,"**_ answered Jack with his head down and his voice sounding ashamed.

"Oh really? Then tell me if you know," said Megatron while surprised the boy would admit he knew.

_**"I diverted my time from the assignment you gave me to seek out something else that I felt needed to be confirmed for my own personal desire to know,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron turning to face his charge and stare at him with piercing optics.

"Are you sure that's why I called you here? How can you be sure I didn't know what you are telling me now?" asked Megatron with Jack merely pointing to Soundwave with his head still down.

_**"Soundwave is the eyes and ears of this Warship Lord Megatron. If anything, I would be surprised if he did **__**NOT**__** tell you what I've done during my time working. There is no point in hiding or denying it. I will accept any punishment you deem fit for my actions and without complaint,"**_ answered Jack while Megatron looked slightly impressed and turned to Soundwave before looking at the boy again.

"There will be no punishment Jack," replied Megatron with Jack's head shooting up and it was clear to the Warlord the boy was surprised despite the mask hiding it.

_**"My Lord?"**_ questioned a now confused Jack.

"Normally such an action would warrant me ripping out a few servos from my men if they had done what you did, but your actions have helped me in dealing with curiosity of mine I've had for sometime regarding your Nanomachines, and how they got into you," answered Megatron with the boy still appearing confused.

_**"You aren't...angry?" **_asked Jack since he expected his one true Lord and Master to be down right furious for his actions.

"No. Had you kept it from me like I half expected you to do, then yes my Ripper, my reaction to your actions would be very different, and the pain I would inflict upon your form would be immense," answered Megatron with Jack bowing his head yet again.

_**"Thank you for your understanding and mercy my Lord,"**_said Jack humbly and missed the smirk on the Warlord's face.

"I rarely show mercy Jack. As many on my Warship will tell you. As for the information regarding your male sire, it seems only fair I let you go, and retrieve him from his current location," replied Megatron with Jack looking even more shocked despite the Warlord not being able to see it.

_**"I see. I will leave at once,"**_ said Jack before standing and began to leave the bridge.

"One more thing Jack. I want you to be seen when you retrieve your male sire. Seen by the guards, the prisoners, and anyone else at this human prison," commanded Megatron with Jack stopping in his tracks.

_**"Is this because of the Autobots? Is this because they now know who I am behind this mask?"**_ asked Jack with Megatron nodding.

"The time for you being an unknown agent under my command is gone Jack. Let the entire human race know you exist. Let them look upon you with fear at what you can do to them," commanded Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"Yes Lord Megatron,"**_ replied Jack before he was gone.

"Lord Megatron, do you really think the boy's male sire will tell us anything? He may not be so..._willing_ to tell us about these techno-organic Nanomachines inside Ripper's body," commented Dreadwing with Megatron letting out a chuckle.

"I think Jack's male sire will be easily convince that telling us everything we want to know if it is in the best interest of his health," answered Megatron with a knowing smirk on his face.

Either the boy's Father told them willingly...or they would make the man tell them.

(Leavenworth Prison-D Block-Sometime Later)

Jack entered the prison hallway via the Ground Bridge, his presence causing an instant ruckus of noise when he did, and many didn't know what to make of him. Some thought he was some kind of demon from the way he looked, others were looking at him like he was some weird freak of nature, and other were looking at his sword. The much smarter prisoners on this part of D-Block backed away from him, some went into their cells, and watched him cautiously. Many of them killers or had done some horrible act when out in the world so they knew Jack was a killer too. An armed killer of unnatural nature and was not afraid to spill their blood if provoked.

_**"Where is Janus Warrington's cell?"**_ asked Jack knowing these convicts would know where the man was being held despite the data having him in constant isolation from all of these fools.

"Who wants to know _freak_?" asked one convict roughly 6'5 in height with tattoos all over his arms, the side of his face, and was missing a few teeth.

_**"That's not your business,"**_ replied Jack with the convict letting out a chuckle.

"Oh really? I think it is my business. You want to know where Janus is? You're going to earn it. And by earn it, I mean you get on your knees, and suck my di-AAAAAAAH!" exclaimed the convict, as Jack shoved his right hand into the man's torso, and forced him to his knees.

_**"Where. Is. Janus Warrington?"**_ asked Jack with the convict bleeding out of his mouth and the other convicts taking a step back away from them.

"I don't know!" replied the injured convict.

_**"Then you are of no value to me and thus your life is **__**worthless**__**!"**_ answered Jack before ripping the man's guts onto the cold hard floor with the other convicts in the prison all yelling out in fright with some yelling for the guards.

"Hey! You! Stop right there!" exclaimed one guard with a small group of them having their guns out and aiming them at Jack.

_**"Oh, that is so **__**unwise**__**!" **_replied Jack before he moved swiftly and cut through the four guards with his sword.

Now the convicts were really getting scared.

"Get the Hell away from me!" cried out one convict, who dived into one cell, and against the wall near the toilet.

"We can take him! He's just one guy!" exclaimed another convict while eyeing the guns on the ground.

"And be sliced to pieces? Noooo thank you!" replied another convict.

"Fuck this man! I say we kill this freak right now!" exclaimed another random convict moving for one of the guns the guards possessed.

Only to lose his arm reaching for it before being stabbed in the chest where the heart was located and the sound of metal slicing through bones of the man's body were soon heard. The blood sprayed everywhere, over Jack, some of the inmates, the walls, and just about every other place in the prison the liquid could reach. By this point, alarms were blaring, the entire area of D-Block was going under complete lockdown, and by this point most of the convicts decided not to cross Jack while letting the guards deal with this psycho.

Jack however, didn't care what they wanted, and soon grabbed one of the convicts before pinning him to the wall with a sword to his throat.

_**"Where is Janus Warrington?! Do not try patience!"**_demanded Jack with the convict at his mercy sputtering and nearly pissing himself.

"He's down that hall. Head through that area, make two lefts, a right, and go straight! You can't miss it!" answered the scared man before he was thrown far into a group of other inmates.

With his answer received, Jack followed the path he needed to reach his long lost Father, and greeted by the guards trying to stop him. Jack was not going to be stopped by them, as he broke the arm of one, smashed his leg, and rammed his head through a wall. The other guard was knocked away with a quick backhand with enough force to give the man a major concussion. The third guard hit him with his baton to the face, but all it did was break the baton, and piss of Jack that this one got a lucky shot! Jack quickly retaliated by grabbing the guard by his skull and slamming him head first into the wall before tearing off a good chunk of facial flesh tissue.

Entering the specified area in D-Block reserved specifically for his so called Father, Jack made his way through the row of empty prison cells, and finally made his way to the one in particular that was not vacant. Staring inside, Jack finally saw the man who was part of his old life, part of something that was missing in it, and from his very nightmares that were his repressed memories.

Janus Warrington. Jack's Father.

The two stared at each other. The man had dark hair just like Jack, but it was graying on the sides no doubt from stress of being in this place, and the lines around his eyes told the boy he had seen better days. His face was sporting a beard that was also showing signs of graying and had yet to be properly trimmed to look presentable. Janus was wearing the standard prison clothes given to all prisoners once entering prison and was reading a book when Jack made his presence known. It was clear to Jack that Janus didn't know who he was, but wasn't surprised by the sight of him, and yet his form interesting to say the least. It was clear this man was no stranger to seeing strange things and this made Jack wonder what else this man has seen before being locked away? So many questions that needed to be answered and only this man had them in his possession.

"Are you just going to stare at me all day? Or are you going to bust me out?" asked Janus in a somewhat dark yet raspy voice while staring at Jack.

_**"Get up! You have a meeting to attend,"**_ replied Jack before ripping the cell's door right off and saw Janus smile at him.

"Really? With who? Anyone I know?" asked Janus with Jack letting out a growl.

_**"That depends. Do you believe that your species is alone in the Universe?"**_ asked Jack before taking some handcuffs acquired from one of the downed guards before cuffing the man in front of him behind his back.

"The guards of this prison will be heading in here with some heavy artillery and it won't be long before even more police officers come here," remarked Janus while walking in front of Jack.

_**"Your point?"**_ questioned Jack casually.

"You can't win against so many. You're outnumbered. Outgunned. I'd rather not be killed during a hostage situation," answered Janus with a cruel chuckle from Jack was heard.

_**"Very true. Still, you should know by now that nothing is what it seems. Soundwave! I have him. Lock onto my coordinates and open up the Ground Bridge where you did the last time in the next 10 seconds,"**_ stated Jack with Janus trying to look behind him.

"Ground Bridge?" asked Janus before he found himself where the other convicts were and saw they decided to keep a healthy distance away from Jack.

_**"You'll see soon enough,"**_ replied Jack before the Ground Bridge appeared and the two walked through it while many of the inmates backed away from the portal.

Jack found it somewhat amusing when he saw some of the inmates making a cross shape motion with their hand in the belief the unknown figure stained in the blood of their own and guards alike was actually a demon sent from Hell to retrieve Janus for the Devil. It almost made Jack laugh at how foolish they were to believe such a belief in their faith might somehow protect them from his sword or the Decepticons in general if they ever decided to make a public appearance.

Their God could not help them. He had heard the voice of Unicron when the destroyer had confronted Optimus Prime. He had learned of the Primes, of Primus, and seen the mystical power of Vector Sigma back on Cybertron.

To Jack...Primus and Unicron were his Gods now.

"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Janus in a whispered voice, as he looked around to see the massive technological wonder that was the inside of the Decepticon Warship, and saw the other Decepticons looking at him with their optics.

"Greetings human. Welcome aboard the _Nemesis_. I am Megatron. I am the Leader of all Decepticons," replied Megatron while walking towards the human staring up at him.

"The name is Janus Warrington. Former scientist and now escaped convict. I take it your the reason this guy here freed me from my prison?" asked Janus before he cried out in pain when a blow to the back of his knee by Jack forced him to kneel.

"You will _kneel_ in Lord Megatron's presence or I will _make you_ kneel in his presence," replied Jack before bringing his sword to the man's throat.

"At ease Jack. That's no way to treat your long lost sire," said Megatron in a soothing tone he had used when speaking to Breakdown over Orion Pax first coming on board his ship while seeing Janus's eyes widening in shock.

"Jack? My son?!" asked Janus before he cried out in pain when the boy put pressure on his bound arm and practically broke it like a twig.

_**"You have no right to call me that! You lost that right after what you did. After what you pulled!"**_ exclaimed Jack with anger and rage in his voice while wishing to slice the man's neck open to spray his crimson lifeblood all over the bridge.

"Calm yourself Jack! We have questions for our guest and we can't get our answers if you kill him," replied Megatron with more authority in his voice and saw Jack was struggling with himself over this personal issue.

_**"Forgive me Lord Megatron. I am clearly...too emotional right now. I request to take my leave here until I am more...focused,"**_ said Jack with Megatron nodding.

"Request granted Jack. You have more then earned it. Go rest for now. Train or relax in the simulator even," answered Megatron with Jack nodding before putting his sword away, bowed to the Decepticon Warlord one more time, and left the bridge.

"My son clearly has anger issues," remarked Janus while finding himself unable to stand due to the pain in his leg.

"Considering how you tried to snuff his life out when he was just a sparkling I'm not all that surprised Janus Warrington," answered Megatron with Janus tensing slightly at his words.

"That was a..._mistake_ on my part," replied Janus with Megatron frowning.

"Yes it was. Had you succeeded...I would have missed the chance to have a very strong and loyal subordinate capable of doing what others under my command in the past could _NOT_!" exclaimed Megatron with Janus flinching again in a combination of his words and his body's pain.

"I deserve to go to prison for what I did to him and his Mother. I won't deny that fact. I am a bit curious as to how you were able to recruit my son to your...cause?" asked Janus with Megatron smirking at him.

"Let's just say it wasn't Jack's first choice and not a willing one either at that," answered Megatron with Janus nodding.

"I can only imagine. You've made some interesting..._modifications_ to his body. I'm a bit surprised the Nanomachines allowed it," replied Janus with Megatron's grin increasing.

"So you _did_ have a hand in them being inside of Jack. You experimented on him," stated Megatron with Janus scoffing at him.

"Why is it that everyone knowing about the Nanomachines and my son just _assume_ I just injected them into his body? That I experimented on him and they somehow succeeded in bonding with his body? I didn't do either of those things to him. If you had even bothered to look at these Nanomachines properly, which I'm guessing you did given the advanced technology this ship possesses, you would know these Nanomachines are _techno-organic_, and thus were with him since his _conception_!" answered Janus with Megatron raising an eyebrow and Soundwave played the image of a baby inside the Mother's womb.

_Its a boy!_

"Yeah. Something like that," replied Janus while looking from Soundwave to Megatron.

"And just _how_ did these Nanomachines be with him for that long?" demanded Dreadwing with Janus letting out a small chuckle.

"I thought it would be obvious at this point considering how advanced you all are. He got them from me because they were inside _MY_ body long before they ever bonded with Jack when he was conceived inside his Mother," answered Janus with the Decepticons looking at him in shock.

"And how did you come across them in the first place?" asked Megatron while Janus just smirked at the Decepticon Warlord.

"Oh that is indeed one interesting story. What do I get in return for telling it?" questioned Janus with Megatron bringing out his blade.

"You get to keep your life," answered Megatron with Janus letting out a laugh.

"And lose your only lead to the truth? Few know about the origin of these Nanomachines and fewer know how they became techno-organic in the first place. In fact, the only one who really knows the truth about that last part...is me!" replied Janus while Megatron was looking disgusted at this fact.

"We can be very persuasive in extracting information from you," countered Dreadwing while taking a step toward Janus.

"I'm sure you could, but my body is not as strong as my son, and you would risk killing me in the process," Janus shot back with his smirk growing.

"Perhaps I should let your son have the honors of extracting information out of you. He's quite curious about the Nanomachines as well. I think he's enjoy the chance _to_ rip into your flesh to make you talk," countered Megatron again and this time Janus's smirk left him.

"How very true. He would do everything possible to make me talk. His Mother was the same way when I didn't want to tell her things. Things I couldn't tell her due to orders from my superiors at the military base where I worked in the lab to study those little tiny wonders now coursing through Jack's body," remarked Janus while letting out a small chuckle.

"Quit stalling human! Lord Megatron will have his questions answered or you will know what pain truly is for your defiance!" exclaimed Dreadwing while bringing out his sword.

"Enough! Dreadwing, escort our new human guest to a proper cell. We'll get our answers when the reality of his situation on board my ship sinks in," commanded Megatron to his second-in-command.

"I'm looking forward to our next conversation. I don't suppose you have a doctor capable of fixing my arm and looking at my leg?" replied Janus with Megatron scoffing at him.

"Your son managed to survive in far worse condition before he joined my ranks. You can survive as you are now Janus Warrington," said Megatron before making a simple hand motion for Dreadwing to take the human away.

(Autobot Base-At the Moment)

"What do you mean Janus was busted out of his cell!" exclaimed Special Agent William Fowler into his cell phone with the other Autobots, the children, and June listening in on his conversation.

"Its as we said earlier sir. The man was busted out of his cell by an unknown force. Killed several inmates and guards with what witnesses say was a sword. Possibly Japanese from what some inmates and surviving guards told our investigators when questioned on the design. This guy appeared in what some claimed to be a quote 'portal of light and had a metal face mask with red eyes like that of a demon' end quote. This guy was reported taking Janus away in handcuffs so we don't suspect his escape was planned on his part since he was isolated from just about everyone in D-Block. They left the very same way with the kidnapper contacting someone called 'Soundwave' before the portal opened up again," replied the military officer on the other line.

"Soundwave?" questioned Fowler while the Autobots looked at one another and knew the Decepticons along with Jack were involved in this.

"Yes. We figured it was some kind of codename of the one creating the 'portal of light' and didn't want anyone knowing this guy's true identity," answered the officer.

"Listen soldier. You are going to strike what happened at the prison from the record. As of right now the source of the disturbance is a prison riot. You hear me? A _prison riot_!" commanded Fowler knowing such information would spell disaster on his end.

"We can't cover this up with that kind of story!" exclaimed the officer.

"I don't care what you have to do for the cover story to stick soldier, but I expected it to stick better then super glue!" Fowler shot back and hung up the cell phone.

"I can't believe it. Why would they kidnap Janus?" asked June since she didn't understand why the man was freed in the first place.

"Megatron is no doubt interested in the Nanomachines inside your son June. Since Janus is the only one truly capable of telling him anything about them, it is the next logical step for Megatron to send Jack, and take the man by force," answered Optimus, as he saw the human femme flinch slightly at the mention of Jack, and had to remind himself that June was still dealing with the news of her son becoming the monster Megatron had turned him into now.

"There is nothing to be gained from it though. Even if Janus told them what he did know about the Nanomachines wouldn't help the Decepticons since all the Nanomachines are bonded to Jack," stated Raf since he had been looking at the information Fowler had been able to provide about the tiny wonders.

"Then its clear Megatron is after something else in connection to them. Questions he may have that only Janus can answer," replied Optimus gravely.

"And we still have no way to track down the Decepticon Warship so we can't perform a rescue mission. Is Bulkhead still out scouting for energon?" stated Arcee since the big bulky Wrecker was not around the base from what her optics could see.

"Yes. When he gets back we'll inform him of this information," answered Optimus while his mind was focusing more on Jack and his Father.

(_The Nemesis_)

"Out of all the things I expected you to be doing in the training simulator..._this_ was not one of them," remarked Dreadwing, as he walked into the room to see Jack was sitting on his knees, and looking at the scenery the training simulator provided for him.

_**"You should try this. Clears the mind of the rage and chaos that can blind us if we are not careful,"**_ challenged Jack, as he was sipping some tea mixed with energon, and was looking at the serenity the Solidogram was providing.

What was he watching? A simple tranquil place in Japan where the sakura petal blew in the wind, the grass was green, the water flowed, and the sky was peaceful for all to gaze upon it with admiration. Jack had come in here to originally slice through Solidograms of humans and even Autobots that would dare cross his path. But then _something_ almost within his mind compelled him to do act differently and simply do this instead. Maybe it was the data in his mind about he samurai in general and how to lash out in a rage was not very samurai thing to do.

So he opted to try something else.

"I do not understand the need nor do I wish to try such a thing," replied Dreadwing while he looked at the Solidogram of the current surroundings and silently admitted to himself it was nicer then that of a desert with blistering heat or a depressing forest for that matter.

_**"Your loss. Might make you a better warrior in the process. You're a lot like a samurai in your own way Dreadwing. You just don't know it,"**_ replied Jack before taking another sip of his tea laced with energon.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean I'll simply try something so..._human_ like you are doing," countered Dreadwing while doing his own research in accessing the samurai of ancient times and silently admitted to himself that Jack wasn't wrong.

_**"Like I said, it is your loss. Why are you here?" **_replied Jack calmly while hearing the footsteps of the Decepticon while the massive being walked towards him.

"Lord Megatron wishes you to personally begin interrogation of the human prisoner," answered Dreadwing while Jack nodded in response before finishing his tea and stood up with his sword in hand.

_**"How...**__**ruthless**__** should I be in my work?"**_ asked Jack with Dreadwing giving him an evil looking grin.

"_Completely_ ruthless Ripper. Make your sire tell you _everything_!" answered Dreadwing with Jack simply nodding before he left the room.

_**"Do what you wish here Dreadwing. I have a mission to perform,"**_ replied Jack before the door shut and left the Decepticon to his own devices.

(Autobot Base-Sometime Later)

"Optimus, you're not going to believe this. The Decepticon Warship just popped up on my scanners," stated Ratchet with the others looking surprised by this.

"Could it be some kind of trap?" asked Arcee with Optimus shaking his head no.

"Megatron would never risk his only Warship in a potential fight with us unless he had an unbeatable advantage. At this moment, I seriously doubt he does given the serious blow his numbers have suffered since Airachnid's defection from his ranks, and the others that have perished since that time," answered Optimus with Arcee's optics narrowing at the mention of the Spider Bot's name.

"What could have made the ship appear on Ratchet's scanners in the first place?" asked Raf with Optimus being unsure on how to answer.

"I don't know. But at the same time I'm also detecting Airachnid's energon signature and strangely enough...its _pulsing_ louder then expected," answered Ratchet with a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Right around the area where the cave and that Insecticon warrior fighting Megatron was located," remarked Arcee while remembering how she fought Jack and how he was so close to ending her life.

"How do you want to proceed Optimus? On the one hand we could bridge to the _Nemesis_ and take on Megatron in the hopes of rescuing Janus. On the other, we could go after one rogue Decepticon, and possibly get some answers about Jack in the hopes we can reverse the things done to him," said Ratchet with Optimus looking at each set of coordinates.

"As much as I would like to pursue Megatron, the chance of Airachnid having something dangerous in her possession is something we cannot overlook. She is well known for her striking in the shadows when least expected and this would be one of those times given her current coordinates. We will pursue Airachnid first and depending on the outcome of choice...we will go after Megatron to rescue Janus from his interrogation," answered Optimus with Arcee looking forward to getting her hands on Airachnid for hurting Jack.

For her influence that no doubt turned Jack into a human Decepticon.

"I'll Ground Bridge you near her location, but at a spot where its above the cave, and not in front of it. That way, you three can attack from above, and get the jump on her," said Ratchet, as he opened the Ground Bridge, and saw the three Autobots enter it.

"Hey Ratchet! You said the sensors indicated Airachnid's signal was pulsing?" asked Raf with interest and Ratchet nodded.

"Yes. It was most unusual. Normally the signal pulses in a simple fluxuation that tells the sensors she is in the area like it would the others. But this fluxuation she's giving out has multiple pulses around her and they signify that there is multiple signals pulsing almost like they were around her body," explained Ratchet while finding it very peculiar.

"Could Airachnid have unmarked Decepticons beside her? Did she take anyone with her from Megatron's ship? Like maybe Jack?" asked Miko with Ratchet shaking his head no.

"The sensors here know what Jack's signature is like to determine it from the others. If Jack were with her, we would have known, and given how he recently was responsible for Janus Warrington's break out...its clear he hasn't decided to leave Megatron's service anytime soon," answered Ratchet while scratching his chin while looking at the data in front of him.

"Then what could these pulses mean?" asked Raf while he was trying to understand this strange phenomena too.

"I'm not sure. Its certainly not dark energon so we can rule that out. Whatever is causing it has made Airachnid's signal more potent in picking up. Something I don't think she even realizes or else she wouldn't be out of the nearby cave," replied Ratchet while his mind tried to understand the pulses.

(With Airachnid)

"Well this is interesting. Megatron's Warship is shining brightly on my sensors. Clearly something has gone wrong up there to make the cloaking system fail. I just hope nothing has happened to my Jack," said Airachnid to herself before she landed at the front of the cave where the Insecticons were waiting to obey her every command.

Ever since she found them, Airachnid had been using her own insect nature on them, and getting them to worship her like a Queen of their hive. And rightfully so given what she was with what was currently inside her body growing at a wonderful rate that even now were giving the Spider Bot a strange feeling inside. Ever since Airachnid first became a Decepticon, she was always interested in breaking things, tearing them apart, and leaving her enemies on the ground a helpless wreck. Breakdown being a recent example of her love for it, as well as Tailgate many cycles ago during the Great War on Cybertron, and of course the various trophies she had before Jack had destroyed her ship shortly after their first encounter.

Oh how she hated Jack back then. Her wonderful collection of trophies going up in flame and smoke with no hope of getting new ones of those specific species because they were the _last_ of those specific species! Airachnid had tried to get revenge on Jack and Arcee by swallowing her pride to make a deal with Silas from that M.E.C.H. to give them what was left of the Autobot after ripping the blue femme to pieces. Though if she was honest with herself, Airachnid was going to double cross Silas, kill Arcee, Jack, the boy's femme sire June, kill the M.E.C.H. leader, and all his goons at the base while not being in that order.

And yet things _still_ didn't work out like she had first hoped. But it seemed Primus had something else in mind for her and the others she had made contact with since that time. A means of traveling great distances with the vehicle she scanned and became once the schematics downloaded into the T-Cog with her form making modifications to it so the size of her alt. mode wouldn't be so bulky. She had made sure when transforming that her vehicle form would be sleek, stealthy, and dare Airachnid think it..._sexy_! Not just for her enjoyment of course, but for Jack's too since that was one of things that Airachnid felt would attract the boy to her ever since the obsession with him became apparent even to the Spider Bot herself.

At first, it was an obsession where she desired to kill him slowly, painfully, either in front of Arcee, or before the blue femme Autobot could get to Jack in time. But then...things began to change. _She_ began to change in terms of her feelings when it came to Jack, as she saw him defy all the odds, and fight everyone off that tried to make him submit. He had defied Megatron, defied her, defied Knock Out, and it was only _after_ Soundwave downloaded the program to make him loyal did Jack pledge his loyalty to Megatron. It was then she knew that Jack was not entirely the Jack she knew, but the boy was still Jack in a sense, and one Airachnid had spent trying to wrap around her clawed fingers. Even their time alone together was interesting, as she had kidnapped him from his room, which was only a few doors down from her own, and using several key technological wonders had been able to be with Jack on a physically intimate level.

And the rewards it had brought her beyond the pleasure of the moment with the aftermath of it all being unbelievable to the point where Airachnid thought Primus had somehow did something. She had snuck into the lab when Soundwave was recharging, which was a very rare thing when being constantly active on a ship, and ran test after test on herself to further confirm what she already suspected.

Now it was bringing Airachnid's long life into perspective in this moment where instead of ending life...she would _create it_!

Of course that presented a problem, as she was on a hostile planet, Decepticons on one side, Autobots on another, and Airachnid dare not forget about M.E.C.H. since they would hunt her down from one end of this planet to the next if they knew what was going on inside her body. She would have to lay low, yet she needed her enemies to thin out, or at least be weakened to the point where Airachnid could rest easy knowing none of the three sides would come after her.

And with the Insecticon hive she found now under her command...Airachnid knew who to send them after.

Hence why the swarm of Insecticons had left the cave to attack Megatron's ship and bring it crashing down along with the Decepticon Warlord in the process. She had of course mentioned to them to spare Jack while sending a mental picture to each of the hive of what he looked like so they would go _around _him, and avoid fighting her lover if it could be avoided.

"Airachnid!" exclaimed Arcee, as she launched herself down upon the Spider Bot while blasting the femme Decepticon, and trying to end her life.

"Arcee, how I've missed you. The last time we saw one another was you hanging upside down and at my mercy before Starscream interfered. I'm actually surprised he even let you live! Considering he snuffed out Cliffjumper's spark, I was under the impression he would have done the same to you, and used it to get back into Megatron's good graces," remarked Airachnid while fleeing from the angry Autobot femme trying to kill her.

And mentally commanding several Insecticons to come back to help her in this battle with Team Prime.

"Like you would in his place?" challenged Arcee while trying to hit her target moving around in the trees before transforming into a helicopter.

"As if I would grovel to Megatron when I can be out on my own. I have new priorities now Arcee. I would think your team would have jumped at the chance to attack Megatron and his Warship now that its exposed to almost every sensor on this planet detecting it. You and Prime must _really_ hate me for helping Megatron turn the Jack you all knew into what he is now. So deadly, so vicious, and not to mention..._so sexy_!" taunted Airachnid with the Spider Bot dodging the energy blasts aimed at her, but one of the energy blasts hit, and the rogue Decepticon went crashing down before transforming to land on her feet.

"Digging underground. That's original," remarked Arcee sarcastically before pursuing the femme Decepticon.

"Welcome to my new home Arcee. Do you like it? I bet Jack would," replied Airachnid with Arcee snarling at her.

"Not the Jack I know Airachnid. You helped turn him into something horrible! He went from an honest human boy into something monstrous!" exclaimed Arcee with Airachnid letting out a laugh that echoed throughout the large cave where the stasis pods holding the Insecticons were located.

"You're so naive Arcee. Even after all these cycles, you can't see beyond what your optics have shown you, and what Jack has become since being made a Decepticon. My Jack is more then what you've made him out to be and I have first hand knowledge of what he can do. Both on and _off_ the missions he's done for Megatron," replied Airachnid, as she gave Arcee a knowing, and cruel smile that made the blue femme Autobot put things together.

"You didn't," whispered Arcee while Airachnid let out a chuckle.

"_We _did. Contrary to what you may think Arcee...it was a mutual and _intimate_ moment between us. What is that word humans use? Consensual? Yes, that's it. _Consensual_! And believe me it was everything I could have hoped for and _more_!" replied Airachnid with victory in her voice.

"You lie!" challenged Arcee with her voice filled with denial.

"Do I? Not about this Arcee. _Never _about this. I used the latest in Solidogram, Pretender, and Protoform based technology on board Megatron's Warship to achieve a level of pure intimacy with Jack you couldn't begin to fathom. The sheer pleasure I've felt from Jack, the way he became such an _animal_ when we coupled, and dominated me each time our bodies were merged together was...it felt like I had become one with the All Spark. Or maybe a better description would be that it felt like I had just been touched by Primus himself!" replied Airachnid while letting out a cruel laugh while Arcee's face was filled with horror before it became that of anger.

"You...You...You _BITCH_!" exclaimed Arcee angrily before firing at Airachnid with all her rage being channeled into her eyes.

"When I was with Jack I certainly was one Arcee. _His_ bitch if you want me to be more precise," remarked Airachnid while dodging Arcee's projectiles and saw the anger in the Autobot's optics.

"You defiled him!" exclaimed Arcee while trying to hit Airachnid with her blasts.

"I'd prefer to think of it as making him more like a man. I was his _first_! I brought him to a level of pleasure you could _never_ bring _MY_ Jack. Do you want to know something else Arcee? When _MY_ Jack reached his climatic release, he called out _MY_ name, and released his genetic material into _MY _body. It was _bliss_!" stated Airachnid before Arcee let out a war cry and began blasting the Spider Bot with everything she had.

And hit her target.

"Any last words before I send you to the Pit?" asked Arcee while pointing her blaster at Airachnid's face.

"Yes actually I do have something to say Arcee and its important so you should _really_ pay attention," replied Airachnid while Arcee kept her optics focused on the Spider Bot.

"Spill it so I can end your life," Arcee shot back with her blaster arm charged and ready to fire.

"I know how much you want to end my Spark. I also know that there is little to nothing I could do that would make you stop from putting that charged energy from being released into my brain. Fortunately, I do have something that will make you stay your hand, and my execution by your hands. Something that will infuriate you to no end. Something you will once again deny is the truth," replied Airachnid before she felt the heat from the blaster nearly burning her face.

"Say your last words now before I lose my patience Airachnid!" exclaimed Arcee while making sure to keep Airachnid's extra arms in her line of sight in the even they were used at the last moment to escape.

"I'm pregnant," answered Airachnid with Arcee looking her right in the optics with shock and horror at hearing this.

"What did you just say?" demanded Arcee while glaring fires from the very Pit itself at her.

"You heard me Arcee. I'm what the human femme's of this world would say if they were carrying their Sparklings. I'm _pregnant_. In my body, carefully protected by several of the various internal systems even I did not know existed in my form, I am carrying _offspring_ that will become a new race of Cybertronians, and you don't need to be a genius in Space Bridge technology to figure out who the _Father_ is in all of this," answered Airachnid, as she saw Arcee's face was filled with shock, disbelief, horror, and anger at hearing this.

"Lies! Its not possible!" exclaimed Arcee with Airachnid smirking at her.

"Techno-organic Nanomachines. My Jack's techno-organic Nanomachines to be exact. The means I used to become intimate with him, combined with their handiwork, I was able to do what no one before me has been able to do since the Primes first existed, and even then they used the Well of All Sparks! I am going to be a _Mother_! My Jack is going to be a _Father_! And if you kill me...you kill a piece of him. So go ahead Arcee. End my life. End the innocent lives growing inside my body. Kill the only extension not only of myself, but of _MY_ Jack, and tell him to his face that it was by your hands that he was denied a chance to become greater then his own bastard Father!" challenged Airachnid while seeing the look on Arcee's face shift to nearly pure disbelief while looking for the lie she was sure was there.

"You're lying! You'd say anything to be spared my vengeance. Even saying _that _of all things to me!" said Arcee knowing Airachnid was always one to say things that made her opponents question things or drop their guard.

"As you once swore upon the All Spark many cycles ago to me about not knowing those attack coordinates for the weapons depot...so do I swear upon the All Spark that I am pregnant, and that Jack _IS_ the Father," said Airachnid with Arcee struggling with herself with the desire to blow the Spider Bot's head clean off.

But what if Airachnid was lying? What if this was all a ploy?!

"Even you would lie when swearing upon the All Spark to save your aft. Does Jack know about this? Does Megatron? Or are they both in the dark?" questioned Arcee, as she saw Airachnid narrow her optics, and hiss in anger.

"No. Neither of them know. Do you think I would tell Megatron something like this? We both know what he'd do if such information reached him about my offspring, and what it could mean for him in the long run. I won't have my babies be used for his cause. You know me Arcee. I'm one twisted femme, but I'm not about to give the very Sparklings _I_ bring into this world over to Megatron, and let them be used as his pawns. As for my Jack...I was going to tell him when we laid together last, but...by that point Megatron had planned to have me killed by Dreadwing's hands with Breakdown's help, and we _all_ know what has befallen Breakdown," answered Airachnid with Arcee still looking skeptical.

"You have no idea how much I want to turn you into a dead piece of slag right now," remarked Arcee with Airachnid smirking at her.

"I have a vague idea. But we both know you won't. You know that snuffing out my Spark will end the multiple Sparks growing inside of me. Yes I said _multiple_ Sparks. They are currently well protected inside my body that I can transform without hurting them, but for how much longer I don't know, and let's not forget this is all new to me too. The idea of bringing a life into this world rather then remove it is not something I've experienced in my long life Arcee," replied Airachnid while looking a tad nervous now while slowly putting her hands on her torso to feel the Sparks of the little ones growing inside her very body.

"And you should be denied it for all those you've killed. Tailgate being among them," stated Arcee with Airachnid hissing at her again.

"There you go again. Its always Tailgate this! Cliffjumper that! You have yet to mention the loss of Jack. Do you still think he can be saved? Or have you decided to just snuff out his life without a single bit of hesitation?" questioned Airachnid with Arcee growling at her.

"Shut your trap Airachnid. You don't know what its like to lose someone close to your Spark and then see it get snuffed out. What could you possibly know?!" demanded Arcee with Airachnid once more looking angry.

"You want to know. Fine! I'll tell you how I know and it involves your precious dead partner _Tailgate_! Before the war truly got underway aside from the skirmishes that had followed since the formation of the Decepticons, I wasn't even with the Decepticons, or even cared about the war to join a side. I had my own little corner on Cybertron where the war could be seen at a distance in the underbelly of our now dead planet. Not unlike where the Insecticons laid before Megatron recruited them to his ranks. But that all soon changed when your Autobot for a partner came into my home and attacked me along with the one I had chosen to be my one true Sparkmate at the time. My precious Silkweb," answered Airachnid sadly before her optics became angry again, as she remembered how Tailgate entered her home, blaster in hand, and without any reason he shot them both with Silkweb taking most of the shots for her.

Tailgate had been so arrogant in his belief he killed them both that he never bothered to check to see if his shots were true kills. Airachnid herself had barely lived through her injuries and would have no doubt perished if not for her precious Silkweb shielding her from one of the shots that he took for her. Now he was gone, one with the All Spark, and she was left with nothing up until this point. And then she met Jack, the new improved Jack that Megatron now employed, and things changed soon after. What was meant to be revenge against Arcee soon became one of passion and even dare she think it...love? She would always love Silkweb, even now his very image remained in her processors, closely guarded, heavily encrypted in her memory banks, and during the lonely nights on the ship Jack had destroyed did she think about him. Her Spark would always be shared by those two, each one similar yet different with their own uniqueness, and personality traits that made her Spark beat faster.

Maybe that was what drew Jack to her in the first place?

"You fracking Decepticon liar! Tailgate would never do that! He didn't have a reason to do it!" exclaimed Arcee and almost fired on Airachnid.

Almost.

"I never said I knew why he did it. All I know is what I saw. Your precious partner came into _MY_ home, killed _MY_ future Sparkmate, and he did it with a smile on his face. I saw his Autobot symbol on his chest, I knew what side of the war he was on, and it was in that very moment I swore to make every single Autobot that wore that symbol with pride _suffer_ for the loss of Silkweb. And then one day, during the war, I happen to have in my possession the very source of my pain, my suffering, and his naive partner hanging their helplessly to watch. Powerless to save her partner like I was unable to save my future Sparkmate when he came in and shot us without mercy," replied Airachnid with glee in her voice.

"A likely story, but we both know Megatron could have cooked it up for you to use in the event of your impending doom when your value to him was still high," countered Arcee with Airachnid hissing at her once more.

"Oh really? You still need further proof? Fine! Then let me tell you another cold hard truth that not even Megatron knows about me my dear Arcee. I _never_ wanted those attack coordinates from you. If you must know the truth I only tortured you so Tailgate would come to rescue you and in doing so...he would fall into my trap. He would fall into my wrathful hands and I would show him no mercy. The fact you were his partner and there to watch him die was just an added _bonus_!" Airachnid shot back while Arcee kept the blaster pressed against her skull.

"Bitch!" exclaimed Arcee angrily while Airachnid smirked.

"Perhaps. But this bitch just so happens to be telling you the horrible one hundred percent truth that we both know will not be accepted by you or any other member of Team Prime. At least not the other grunts on your team anyway like the Wrecker or Scout," remarked Airachnid while Arcee narrowed her optics at her.

"What are you implying Airachnid?" asked Arcee with Airachnid smirking further.

"You think Optimus didn't know the truth? He did! He _knew_ what Tailgate did to me all those cycles ago. I know because I planned to snuff out his Spark along with Tailgate when I learned of their meeting shortly after I was healed long enough to move and was acting far from the rational femme before you. I overheard their entire conversation in regards to what Tailgate did and how the war was preventing your beloved Prime from punishing him to the fullest extent he would like to do. That because of the war, Tailgate got to walk away free from the punishment that should have been rightfully given, and the justice that was rightfully owed to me!" answered Airachnid with Arcee once more struggling to not shoot the Spider Bot for her words.

"Optimus would have told me this if it were true!" challenged Arcee with Airachnid letting out a small empty chuckle.

"And risk you going rogue like me? Risk you betraying the Autobot cause and become a Decepticon? Your leader no doubt kept it to himself because he wanted to protect you from the painful truth. Unlike Megatron, I find Prime's reasons to be fall more noble, and more caring then the Lord of all Decepticons," countered Airachnid with Arcee taking an unconscious step back and her blasters lowered.

"Its not true. Its a lie!" said Arcee while trying to fight the ache in her Spark and the cruel whispers in her mind saying otherwise.

"Hardly. Ask Prime about Tailgate and have your Autobot Medic do his scan of my body to further verify my claims of being the Mother to Jack's children. You'll find Arcee that the most painful weapon in my arsenal isn't my talons, my extra legs, or even the venom I have that could leave its own personal mark on your body. Its the cold hard truth about things that I know that when brought to light can shift someone's perspective on things in their life," replied Airachnid and saw Arcee scowl at her now before grabbing the Spider Bot by the throat.

"As much as I want to kill you right now Airachnid, I need to have this verified for my own sake, and for Jack's too in the off chance you are actually telling the truth," stated Arcee with Airachnid smirking further at this victory.

"Lead the way. Don't worry about my Insecticons going after your teammates. I've had them redirected to Megatron's Warship to take it and him down," replied Airachnid with Arcee's optics going wide.

"With Jack possibly being on the ship?" demanded Arcee with Airachnid scowling at her.

"You think I would let them endanger _MY _Jack? They all have a mental image of what he looks like and orders not to kill him. I do want my Sparklings to be raised by their _Father_ after all," replied Airachnid while finding a sense of joy in rubbing this in Arcee's face.

"You forget he's loyal to Megatron now. He'll fight them to protect his 'One true Lord and Master' no matter what," countered Arcee with Airachnid looking a little angry.

"Perhaps. Still, I know Jack will come out of it alive, and if he gets a few more scars in the process...well I always did think they made him more appealing," remarked Airachnid while Arcee snarled in disgust.

"Sadists," replied Arcee with Airachnid smirking.

"Why thank you for the compliment Arcee. I don't suppose you could request your doctor to pay me a visit?" asked Airachnid while she turned her head to see Optimus Prime and Bumblebee appear in the cave to see them look at her.

_"She's alive?!"_ asked Bumblebee in surprise with Airachnid scoffing at him.

"You actually thought she'd kill me so easily. I have my ways of surviving little Bee," remarked Airachnid with Arcee growling at her.

"You showed a great deal of restraint Arcee. I'm proud of you," said Optimus with the Spider Bot smirking at him.

"You may wish to retract that statement after what I told Arcee that made her stay the death blow to my face Prime," replied Airachnid with Optimus's optics narrowing.

"And what did you tell her?" asked Optimus with Airachnid's smirk growing.

"A little of this. A little of that. Oh and a little bit about Tailgate's dirty secret you kept from Arcee about what he did to me before I joined the war," answered Airachnid with Optimus's optics going wide in surprise.

"Is it true about Tailgate?" asked Arcee with Optimus looking at her for a second before closing his optics.

"Yes. Tailgate did try to murder Airachnid and only succeeded in killing her potential Sparkmate Silkweb in the process. The order was given not by me, but by the Council in days before the war became more violent that was removing them from power, and was done in the belief that the lower dwellings would be used by Megatron to recruit forces to his ranks to fight. Those that were suffering from the corruption in certain places and facing inequality Cybertron was facing were among those levels they believe Megatron would exploit to his cause. The Council ordered Tailgate to remove such sympathizers with lethal force and make it seem like Megatron had ordered the execution to prevent them from joining in the war. By the time I became a Prime, I learned of this action by the few records the Council left behind, and confronted Tailgate about his dishonorable action," replied Optimus with Airachnid now hissing at him.

"His Spark should have had been extinguished for what he did!" countered Airachnid with Optimus sighing.

"While I believe Tailgate should have been punished, the war was beginning to escalate, and I needed all the possible soldiers I could to oppose Megatron. In return for his loyal service in fighting Megatron...I reluctantly pardoned him for his action on the condition he never did it again should he survive the war when it was over," answered Optimus and saw Airachnid glaring at him with intense hatred in her optics.

"And what makes you think he'd have kept his end of the bargain? I saw that smile on his face after he thought I had perished with Silkweb. He enjoyed it. That filthy Autobot had no intention of keeping his word Optimus Prime. I did you a favor in ending his life and you know it!" stated Airachnid with Arcee putting her blade to the Spider Bot's throat.

"Take that back!" exclaimed Arcee with Optimus putting a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Enough Arcee," commanded Optimus with Arcee looking at him in disbelief.

"Yes Arcee. Remember what will happen if I die. The Sparklings inside me will perish too," reminded Airachnid while seeing both Optimus and Bumblebee looking surprised by this.

_"Sparklings? Inside you?"_ asked a surprised Bumblebee while looking Airachnid up and down.

"Keep your optics focused on my face you slag faced Autobot. Only my Jack get to roam his eyes over my body!" exclaimed Airachnid while venom dripped from her mouth and made the Scout take a step back in fear.

"What do you mean you have Sparklings inside of you?" questioned Optimus with the Spider Bot turning to look at the Prime and grin at him.

"As I told Arcee before your arrival here Optimus...I'm currently pregnant. Pregnant with Sparklings growing inside of me and making me one happy femme. I don't think I need to tell you who the Father is considering there is only _one_ person I would have such intimate contact with to make this all happen," replied Airachnid with Optimus looking surprised by this news.

_"That's not possible! Its not! Is it?"_ asked Bumblebee while looking from Airachnid to Arcee and then finally the Prime himself.

"The additional pulsing from Airachnid's energon signature our sensors back at the base picked might explain this, but there is only one way to confirm this information. We need Ratchet here to do a scan to confirm if you are indeed carrying life within your body," declared Optimus with Arcee not liking this one bit.

"And if she's telling the truth? That she's somehow carrying...carrying Jack's..._Sparklings_ inside her body?" asked Arcee while Optimus looked at her and then Airachnid's smiling face.

"While Airachnid is far from innocent, the Sparklings she carries are inside her body are innocent Arcee, and should not be punished for her crimes," answered Optimus, as he saw Airachnid was showing him _some_ form of respect, and even gratitude for this _very_ merciful decision on his part.

"Fine. But if she is lying...," challenged Arcee with Optimus nodding.

"Then you shall be the one to end her life Arcee," replied Optimus though it was clear he had long since detested such a thing.

"Its always nice to know that there is _someone_ aside from Jack capable of keeping Arcee from doing something stupid," remarked Airachnid before Arcee lost her temper and smashed her fist into the Spider Bot's face hard enough to make the Decepticon femme to lose consciousness.

And control over the Insecticon Hive.

(_The Nemesis_)

The Warship was under attack. The entire Insecticon Hive under Airachnid's influential command was swarming upon the vessel, their mission to destroy the ship, and its leader per their Queen's command. However, it was proving to be more challenging then they first expected with the firepower the _Nemesis_ was unleashing upon them, and Megatron himself was no pushover since he had vanquished several of them already. He had just killed several clones of the traitor Starscream while one got away and was now dealing with them. Not only that, but the enhanced human known to them as Jack the Ripper was also fighting them despite his small form, and while they wished to avoid harming him per Airachnid's orders...they had to in order for them to complete their mission.

They could only hope their Queen would forgive them for being forced to disobey.

While this was going on, Bulkhead was making his way through the ship, trying to figure out how to get the Pit out of it, and in his hand was Janus Warrington. Bulkhead had used the incident with the Starscream clones and the Insecticons outside to rescue the captured human before Jack could begin his interrogation. Bulkhead had told Janus to skip all form of introduction until later and the two were trying to figure out how to get off the ship before the Insecticons tore it apart. In the process of running around, the Wrecker ran to where the power core of the Warship was located, and got one Pit of an idea. After putting Janus away inside his body where Miko had been at one point (took him almost forever to clean up that mess along with the smell), Bulkhead got his mace out, and with one might leap...crashed into the power core to make the Decepticon Warship lose power to make it crash.

And a good thing too since Megatron had just gotten control over the Insecticons after their connection to Airachnid's influence was removed from their minds.

"Forgive us one true Lord and Master," proclaimed the Insecticons in perfect unison.

"This day just keeps getting better and better," remarked Megatron with a smile.

Before his ship began to involuntarily descend towards the planet.

_**"What in the name of Primus?!"**_ asked Jack while the ship began to fall downward.

"All hands, get into the ship, and prepare for impact!" commanded Megatron before he quickly picked up Jack and ensured he would get inside safely due to his side making it take longer for him to get in the Warship.

Time he knew the boy wouldn't have with the rate they were descending.

When all the dirt and dust settled after the crash happened, Bulkhead leaped out of the Warship before shifting into his alt. mode to drive like crazy back to base. Inside his vehicle form, Janus was shocked to even be alive let alone inside an alien robot capable of turning into a car that could blend so easily with every other vehicle when on the road.

"Don't get too comfortable pal. My Boss wants to have long hard talk with you," replied Bulkhead while Janus let out a small chuckle.

"After nearly being torn apart today by my own son under the command of your enemy, I think its safe to say its in the best interest of my health to willingly cooperate with your leader," answered Janus while putting on his seatbelt while Bulkhead drove at high speed to the Autobot Base.

If anything it would be an interesting sight.

(Autobot Base-Sometime Later)

"Its fortunate we have enough the needed restraining lock cuffs to contain her when she wakes up Optimus. While I dislike the idea of having Airachnid here at the base, I see no other place for me to conduct my examination, and determine if her claims of being with Sparklings are in fact...true," remarked Ratchet while seeing Airachnid unconscious on the berth with all the needed restraints on _all_ the arms the Spider Bot possessed.

"Just find out if she's telling the truth Ratchet!" demanded Arcee while the fingers in her right hand moved every so often like those Cowboys in those movies she saw where they were itching to pull their guns and fire on their opponent.

She was just one second away from turning her hand into a blaster to shoot the femme before her into oblivion.

"I'm conducting the scan now Arcee. This cannot be rushed. For this to work, I need to do this slowly, and carefully so my findings are one hundred percent accurate without any doubt that what I learn is not put into question. Though personally, I find the idea of a femme Cybertronian, let alone a Decepticon femme like Airachnid _ever_ being able to do what she claimed since that is _NOT_ how Sparklings are brought into the world," stated Ratchet while scanning Airachnid from head to toe in an almost _painful_ anticipation of waiting for the others.

"So? Is she or she not pregnant?!" asked Arcee again while losing what little patience she had right now.

"Guys! Guys! You will not believe the day I just had!" exclaimed Bulkhead, who had suddenly rolled into the base, transformed, and held Janus in his hand for the others to see.

And saw a bound Airachnid on the berth.

"By the All Spark!" remarked Ratchet while looking at his scanners systems and what they told him.

"Oh. You guys too huh?" remarked Bulkhead with Arcee looking from him to Airachnid and then at Ratchet.

"She _IS_ with Sparklings. Airachnid _IS_ as the femme humans would say..._pregnant_!" said Ratchet in shock and disbelief.

"W-Wait w-what?" asked Bulkhead while walking over to them.

"My scanners are telling me that Airachnid is indeed carrying Sparklings. Quite a number of them in fact. It would explain why her energon signature on the sensors were much stronger then usual," replied Ratchet with Arcee looking at the Spider Bot in disbelief.

"Wait! Hold up Doc! How can Airachnid of all Decepticons even be with Sparklings in the first place? Its just not...well its not _possible_! Is it?" questioned Bulkhead while the look on Arcee's face showed she didn't like it one bit.

"Not through any form of science that I can think of at the moment Bulkhead," replied Ratchet while trying to understand the data in front of him.

"Its Jack," answered Arcee bitterly.

"What?" asked Ratchet while looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"She told me Jack helped by being..._intimate_ with her. She said it was in combination with Solidogram, Pretender, and Protoform technology with Jack's Nanomachines. She said they were _techno-organic_ Nanomachines so were able to make such a thing possible for her," answered Arcee while her hands formed into fists and it was clear the femme was restraining herself from smashing Airachnid's face in.

"That's my boy. He became a man in more ways then one," remarked Janus, which turned all optics of every Autobot in the room towards him.

"You will answer for your actions against Jack soon enough Janus Warrington, but at the moment those that need to be here are presently not, and we must first make contact with them," declared Optimus with Janus nodding in understanding.

"My wife being among them I'm sure" replied Janus with several of the Autobots looking surprised.

"And how is it that you know that we know her?" asked Ratchet with a slight huff at the end.

"Because I'm a genius. My son gets turned into a weapon by your enemies. The only way they could know about Jack is if they dug deep. The way you speak of him means he was once part of your group and let's face it...we both know June. She's not going to let her boy near anything dangerous unless the woman's dead or he met you guys first before June could stop him," answered Janus with Optimus narrowing his optics at him.

"If you know that, then you know the Nanomachines in him are techno-organic, and are more then what they once were before bonding with Jack," declared Optimus with Janus letting out a small chuckle.

"That I do. I'll tell you what you what to know my friend, _but_ on the condition my wife is here so I can explain it to her, and so she can understand why I did what I did all those years ago," answered Janus with Optimus nodding.

"Very well. Ratchet, contact agent Fowler, Wheeljack, and June Darby. Tell them we have Janus and he's willing to talk to us. Bumblebee, go pick up Raf, and Miko before coming back here. They will need to be involved in this too," answered Optimus with Bumblebee nodding, transforming, and was gone moments later while Ratchet went to contact the other two humans.

They were finally going to get their answers.

(Sometime Later)

Janus sat in a chair provided by Agent Fowler, his arm was tended to, and so was the leg his son had damaged shortly after his time on the Decepticon Warship. Across from him was his wife or rather _ex-wife_ June Darby, who he could see had taken the loss of their son hard, and while he was glad to see the woman again...this wasn't how Janus wanted it to happen. Above them, Janus saw two kids, one was roughly around Jack's age, and the other was a few years younger. How Jack met those two he didn't know, but guessed they were his classmates, or one of them was unless the boy with glasses was in fact a genius.

He probably was one judging by the way he talked to the one called Bumblebee and how despite being dragged into a war still had a sense of innocence about him. The girl was clearly the wild one of the group and Jack was meant to keep them all balanced when June or Agent Fowler weren't there to do it of them.

"Its been a long time Janus. Prison hasn't been kind to you," remarked June in a low voice with Janus nodding.

"I managed it. Isolation from the general population isn't that bad really. Besides, I doubt the inmates in the prison would want to talk to me since they only care about what get smuggled into their cells. They are short minded idiots and my intellect alone would no doubt make them hate me enough to get stabbed when I'm not looking," replied Janus and saw June smiling at him.

"Listen to yourself. Just like back then," stated June while Janus letting out a smile of his own.

"Yeah. It seems like only yesterday we were a happy married couple with a healthy baby boy named Jack," said Janus before his eyes became filled with sadness and so did June's own.

"It took me years to forgive you after what you did. I still hate you for it," replied June, as she had tears running down her face, and Janus nodded in understanding.

"I know. After what I did to you...to Jack...I almost wish I had been executed for it. How have you been doing since then? I haven't really been allowed to know anything about your life since that day," stated Janus with June giving him a shrug.

"I became a full fledged nurse. Money is now tight, but I've managed though its not easy when you're raising a child, who is growing up so fast before your eyes, and Jack himself has..._had_ a part-time job before this all happened. It was meant to teach him life lesson of responsibility and to work hard to achieve your dreams for the future," answered June with Janus letting out a small chuckle.

"Responsibility. How many times did that word pop up in our talks over the years? I see you used my words to help Jack become a responsible man and embrace what I always explained to you. You did all right June. You raised our son well," replied Janus and was surprised that June's head, which was down slightly had suddenly shot up, and glared at him.

"No! He's _NOT_ your son! Not anymore! Do you know what you've done to him? What your actions did? How _different_ he became when he recovered and the doctors told me his mind had instinctively repressed what happened? That even when repressed, he was so cautious of other people, and afraid to get close to everyone. How your actions made him look at everyone, including _me_ his own Mother, _twice_ like he was expecting some kind of attack, and questioned whether to trust anyone?! You made him afraid to trust anyone. You brought fear of enjoying life around him. Jack didn't have any real friends until Raf, Miko, and the Autobots came into his lives!" exclaimed June while glaring angrily at him.

"Yes. I suppose I have been undeserving of calling Jack my son. I've left my fair share of scars on the boy long before those Decepticons did. I saw what my son had become by their hands. Jack smelled of blood. Was covered in it too. Hell, that boy broke my arm, and fractured my leg in the presence of that Megatron guy. He put his sword to my throat and I honestly thought I was going to die with my blood staining that ship's floor. It was only because his Master gave the order did Jack obey and even then I could tell...it took all his Willpower not to defy his Master," replied Janus while June nodding.

"In a way you should have died Janus. Your actions killed a piece of my son just as your actions nearly killed him...and almost me. Remember?" questioned June while the two sensed the tension in the room increase since they saw Janus nod.

"I remember June. I remember every moment of that day. Every sensation. I remember everything that set in motion that led to it. I remember the day when I married you and I felt so..._complete_," whispered Janus before letting out an empty chuckle.

"Only for you to destroy it by giving Jack those Nanomachines. Experimenting on him like he was one of lab rats in a cage. Do you regret doing that to him at all?" accused June with Janus laughing harder now.

"Don't laugh you moron! That's your son she's talking about. At least have some guts to admit what you did to him!" exclaimed Fowler leaning over the railing.

"I know it is, but I can't help myself in laughing at the constant accusations made against me when you, and everyone else has gotten everything so wrong about what happened to Jack," replied Janus while looking at his angry and infuriated wife.

"How can you say? After what you did to him?!" questioned June, as she stood up from her seat, and had to resist the urge to strike him.

"And what exactly have I done to Jack? Nothing! Absolutely _nothing_! I didn't inject Jack with Nanomachines. He was _born with them_! I experimented on _myself_! On myself! Not him! How do you think those Nanomachines became techno-organic in the first place?" said Janus with June looking at him in shock.

"They were with him during Jack's..._conception_?" asked June with Janus nodding.

"Jack's what?" asked Wheeljack, but a glare from Arcee, and Ratchet shut him up.

"Its a human thing. Its the term we use when the females of our species are carrying our children," answered Janus with Wheeljack scratching his head.

"Your species is weird," remarked Wheeljack with Janus letting out a chuckle.

"You have no idea," said Janus before focusing his attention back to June.

"All this time I thought you had injected him with the Nanomachines. But it still doesn't make sense! I saw the needle marks on his arm!" exclaimed June while Janus shook his head.

"I was taking blood samples. Small amounts of them. I did that after I realized that Jack had them. I needed to find out more, but I never got the chance to fully analyze them since Ortega threw me out, and I had to take...measures to ensure he never knew the truth about Jack," answered Janus with his voice becoming quieter at the end.

"Did that include the attempt on Jack's life? Was it all an act or were you really trying to kill him?" asked June with Janus sighing.

"I won't lie to June. I was trying to kill him. I didn't just suddenly go insane and attempt to kill my son before attacking you. That was the perception I needed everyone around us to see and believe that was the case," replied Janus with Wheeljack snorting.

"Could have fooled me," remarked Wheeljack.

"I fooled everyone. The fact Jack and June survived actually reinforced it. Though I regret ever making the attempt despite my good intentions," replied Janus with June glaring at him again along with the other Autobots doing the same.

"Good intentions? What in the name of Primus and the All Spark could be good about killing your own offspring?!" questioned Ratchet with Janus looking at him for a second before he focused it back on June.

"June, you have to believe me when I tell you that I did it to protect you, and Jack from further harm for my stupidity. I didn't want Jack to be turned into a lab rat. To be poked, prodded, and turned into some monstrous weapon they could use until they could have what made him Jack be replicated before throwing him away like trash. When I moved to strike him down I was fulfilling a Father's work! Fulfilling a Father's _mercy_!" exclaimed Janus with June shaking her head in disbelief.

"You really expect me to believe that Janus? After the knife you used nearly killed Jack and nearly killed me?!" questioned June with Janus closing his eyes when the memory of that moment appeared in his mind.

"I never intended to harm you June. Before or after that moment. You threw yourself in front of Jack to shield him from what would have been the killing blow. I understand why you took such a risk. Jack was our miracle child. The _only_ child we could ever have and no others," stated Janus with June nodding while the others around them now had looks of confusion on their faces.

"What do you mean Jack was your miracle child? How could Jack be the only child you could ever have?" questioned Miko while Janus smiled an empty smile while June began to cry again.

"Because I can't have children. My reproductive organs weren't...fertile enough for me to have any children. The doctors said I had less then five percent chance of ever getting pregnant and barely above that with the various treatments infertile couples undergo to battle this condition," answered June with the others looking shocked.

"Yeah. I remember that day too. Those doctors basically said I had better odds getting struck by lightning then June being pregnant. But we showed them. Though not without a little..._help_ from those wonderful Nanomachines that were inside me," added Janus while everyone refocused on him.

"How did the Nanomachines help?" asked Raf with Miko and Fowler blushing since they both understood what Janus meant.

"Like I said earlier, they were in me. I injected myself because the animals that were first tested were torn apart from inside out. I realized the Nanomachines might not like the fact they were being injected into animals because the animals lacked the mental capacity to adapt to this. So petition for human testing based on that. Ortega refused. He didn't like the project from the start and was just looking for an excuse to end it," answered Janus while looking at June.

"So you used yourself as a test subject by that point in time," concluded Ratchet with Janus nodding.

"Yeah. I did. I falsified reports to make Ortega think the animals I used later were not being reject as often and that my project was showing promise. I injected myself with Nanomachines time after time because I found the number in my body were decreasing slowly overtime. I figured it out shortly after June was pregnant with Jack and I saw the blood sample I had taken only proved my theory right," answered Janus while seeing June's eyes widen in realization.

"What? I still don't get it," replied Miko while Janus let out a chuckle.

"The total number of Nanomachines I had in my body went down because it was during that time I was intimate with June in the attempt to get her pregnant. The Nanomachines I had in my body were leaving me and went to her during that time. It was through them that June's reproductive organs became strong and fertile enough to have a child grow within her," said Janus with the optics of the Autobots widening at this news.

"So they got into June here and fixed her up to the point where she could have a kid with the kid being Jack?" asked Wheeljack with Janus nodding.

"Exactly! Doctors said it was miracle. An act of God they proclaimed. But I knew better then to think that. The began suspecting the Nanomachines were in June, but they stayed there waiting for the time when she would become pregnant, and in that time when Jack was being formed inside of her...they merged with his still developing body," answered Janus with a smirk on his face with a sense of pride knowing his son had taken those tiny wonders to a new level he didn't think was possible.

"They evolved!" said a stunned Ratchet with Janus nodding.

"That they did. Wonderful little creatures those Nanomachines are. That they were smart enough to change themselves in order to adapt to my son so his body wouldn't reject them," replied Janus and just smirked at how his son had done so much before he was brought into the world.

"Just when I think I've got you humans figured out, you pull this on us, and shift things to a whole new level," replied Wheeljack while shaking his head.

"This is serious Wheeljack. At least now we understand how these Nanomachines got into Jack in the first place. Now we just have to find a way to capture him and prevent General Ortega from getting involved in this," replied Arcee before saw Janus look at her in surprise at hearing the man's name.

"Ortega already knows about Jack?" asked Janus with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Yeah. I...sort of had hand in that Janus. _Unknowingly_ of course, as it happened during my initial investigation into the matter of the boy's past when we all thought Jack was still a prisoner on Megatron's Warship," answered Fowler with Janus letting out a sigh of defeat.

"You have brought that pompous ass of a man down on my son's head?! You cannot even begin to understand the ramifications of that arrogant man getting involved? Ortega is a man who believes his way is always right and only tolerates those that disagree with him if they happen to be of higher rank in the military hierarchy. Since he's a General now, I am guessing the number of people that outrank him are pretty slim. The man has little to no patience for anyone and is a hypocrite when it comes to preaching about being a man when it comes to taking responsibility for one's actions," replied Janus and sighed again while rubbing his fingers along his forehead.

"So how do I handle him?" asked Fowler knowing if he could get the General off his case, it would make things easier for him, and the Autobots.

"You can't. Nothing short of a Presidential Order from the Commander-in-Chief himself will make Ortega back off at this point. And even then...he'll just defy the order in secret to get what he wants," answered Janus with Fowler letting out a grimace.

"And what does Ortega want with Jack?" asked Miko with Janus looking at her now with a grim look on his face.

"Its quite simple child. He wants Jack. Or rather...what Jack has _inside_ of him. No doubt the not so good General wants to make Jack suffer for my actions and what better way to do that then to dissect my boy for the Nanomachines he carried to study. Whether Jack is alive or dead when the dissection happens doesn't matter. All that matters to Ortega is that my son suffers for my own actions," answered Janus with the others around him now looking grim.

"Uh oh. Maybe I shouldn't have damaged Megatron's Warship so badly that it crashed," stated Bulkhead knowing it could be a matter of time before the ship was swarmed with human soldiers after their sensors picked up the _Nemesis_ on their scanners.

"This maybe our one chance to take down Megatron or save Jack. With the ship damaged the way it is, the Cons will be too busy trying to fix it to prepare for an attack, and we can use it to grab Jack," stated Arcee with hope in her optics.

"Unlikely. With Airachnid unconscious, as well as properly detained for the moment, the Insecticons are no longer influenced by her, and will serve Megatron loyally. Dealing with one of them is bad enough, but an entire _hive_ is just plain suicidal, and even if you get past them...Jack will not come back quietly. I fear his loyalty to Megatron is absolute by this point in time," stated Ratchet while Optimus nodded.

"Then we must move to other measures that must be taken to ensure victory in this war and save Jack from serving Megatron further," replied Optimus with his words getting the attention of the others.

"What did you have in mind Optimus?" asked Wheeljack while the Prime motioned for them to follow and stopped at the room holding the weapon that could turn the tide of the war for whoever used this power weapon.

The Spark Extractor.

"Optimus, are you sure you want to go down this dark path? To use this weapon against Megatron?" asked Ratchet with the Prime looking reluctant while staring at it.

"It must be done old friend. In using this weapon, Megatron along with his forces will be defeated, and at the same time this weapon of destruction will not harm Jack for he is not Cybertronian. If we use it properly...we have a chance of getting everything we hoped for in this situation," answered Optimus gravely while holding the weapon in his hand.

It was time to do what must be done.

(A/N: YAY! Another super long chapter just for you guys. Hope you loved because I sure did when writing it. Until next time...PEACE!)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-Questionable Actions

No one on board the _Nemesis_ was pleased with the destruction of Megatron's Warship, least of all Megatron himself, and was looking at the surveillance footage provided by Soundwave to see the source behind it all. Snarling at the image of the Autobot Wrecker that was Bulkhead, it soon became enraged when earlier footage showed Janus was with him, and no doubt at the Autobot Base. This was a major setback to his plans, but with this dilemma also came some unexpected fruit in the form of the Insecticons bolstering his ranks, and no doubt making his enemies hesitant to attack.

Still, it would be best if his ship got repaired, and off the ground before anyone _else_ came to investigate the crash. The last thing Megatron wanted was for M.E.C.H. or some other humans under orders from their government to investigate to see his ship. True exposure to the humans had been banned for a reason since they would no doubt be seen as alien aggressors, and with the Autobots having human allies to disclose such intentions to the masses...it would make conquering this planet all the more difficult!

"We need to get this ship operational again. What is the status of the repairs?" asked Megatron with several Vehicons working at several terminals.

"We are moving as fast as we can to repair all the systems Lord Megatron. There was a severe energy backlash after the power core was damaged," answered one Vehicon and dared not look at the snarling face of Megatron.

_**"This is an unfortunate turn of events. We need this Warship in the air or else we'll be sitting ducks,"**_ remarked Jack while still being covered with energon from the various Insecticons he had fought.

"Sitting ducks?" questioned Dreadwing to Knock Out, who shrugged at the phrase, and said it was a human thing.

_**"It means we are in the open and the ship is defenseless target! The guns barely work either due to internal damage or from the crash itself. We may have the Insecticons, but that won't stop the Autobots, or their human allies from launching an attack that could cripple us further. They only need to get into position and lay siege to the ship and wait for us to fight or run out of energon before we fight amongst ourselves for what is in storage,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron nodding in agreement.

"Ripper is right. We cannot afford to hope Optimus and the other Autobots will stay their hands in attacking simply because of our increase in numbers. My old friend has proven to be more ruthless now then he was before in the past. We _must_ get this ship online and fully repaired before we have uninvited guests. And...I think I know what needs to be done to speed up the process," said Megatron with his face sporting an evil grin and his eyes now glowed purple.

Wordlessly, Jack, Dreadwing, Soundwave, and Knock Out followed Megatron to the power core before picking up a energon cube containing the blood of Unicron. His men had harvested the dark substance shortly after discovering it in the volcano that spewed the substance and filled his storage room full of it. Of course he kept them separate from the natural energon this planet produced and gave strict orders to everyone on the ship to leave the chaotic energy to him to command.

"Lord Megatron, as your trusted physician, I strongly advise against this! Dark energon's regenerative abilities are impressive, but we do not know the full extent of such power when used in this manner," said Knock Out nervously since he never really got a chance to study dark energon and was honestly afraid to try.

"Your concern is noted Knock Out, but I have dark energon flowing in me, and thus will use it to make the ship obey my command. This ship will be an extension of my Will and my desires that will be obeyed," countered Megatron while putting the dark energon into the crane system that would put it into the core.

_**"My Lord, may I speak for a moment,"**_ Jack spoke before kneeling at his Master's feet.

"Make it quick Ripper," answered Megatron while turning his head slightly to see the enhanced human's kneeling form.

_**"Like Knock Out, I too share concerns with this move to repair the ship using dark energon. While you may have it flowing through your body, there is no true way to control such a power, and considering it is the blood from a being who is the true embodiment of chaos...we should err on side of caution,"**_ said Jack with Knock Out, Dreadwing, and even Soundwave nodding in agreement since they did not believe this chaotic substance was good for the ship in the long run.

Megatron himself stared at the boy, his mind processing his words, and had to agree with him on some level. Unicron had not taken to Megatron and even less when he refused to kill Optimus on his command when near the Spark of the Bringer of Chaos. The very title alone spoke of the unpredictability the blood of Unicron possessed and it would do well to be cautious of its power.

Cautious. Not afraid.

"Your thoughts on this matter are noted Jack, but the fact remains our options are limited, and our enemies could be here soon to destroy us. Nonetheless, I will see to it that this ship obeys me no matter what," said Megatron and let the crane take the dark energon into the power core.

"I have a bad feeling about this," mumbled Knock Out though it was mostly to himself.

As soon as the dark energon flowed through the ship, its systems began to repair itself, and it wasn't long before it began to take to the air again. Which was a good thing since the Autobots had appeared via a Ground Bridge and the view screen on the bridge now showed the source of the Prime's boldness to lead his troops against the newly repaired _Nemesis_.

_**"Look at the Prime's hand. Its the Spark Extractor!"**_ exclaimed Jack with the image zooming in on the object in Optimus Prime's right hand.

"If he gets close enough and activates that thing, then this ship will be a floating tomb, and we'll be the corpses!" exclaimed Knock Out before being grabbed by the throat by Dreadwing.

"Calm down you fool! The Prime must get close to use it. We must simply prevent him and his forces from succeeding," countered Dreadwing while Megatron nodding.

"Fire on the Prime and the Spark Extractor! If I can't have it, then I will see that Optimus can't use it either," commanded Megatron and soon the ground below was blasted with energy blasts from the ship's guns.

"Should we not mobilize our forces to combat them on the ground?" asked Knock Out with Megatron snarling at him.

_**"And risk Optimus using the Spark Extractor early on our forces and thus thin our ranks further in this battle?"**_ questioned Jack with Megatron agreeing with the human.

"Ripper is right Knock Out. The Spark Extractor could be used at the very least to thin our ranks. Prepare for high orbit in the event Optimus or his forces get to close to use it," commanded Megatron while trying to influence the ship to obey him through their shared connection with dark energon.

However, instead of the ship obeying the Lord of the Decepticons, the _Nemesis_ continued to fire down on the Autobots below, and then launched a stasis beam at each Autobot that sent them into stasis lock. This of course surprised everyone since one, the _Nemesis_ didn't have one equipped with a stasis beam cannon, and two, the ship itself had not obeyed the Decepticon Warlord. A feeling of concern traveled up Jack's spine, as his instincts had told him this was not a good sign, but saw Megatron was too busy focusing on the now dropped Spark Extractor.

_**"You know that bad feeling you had earlier Knock Out? I'm getting that very same feeling right now,"**_ remarked Jack with Knock Out nodding.

"Lower us down. I will have the Spark Extractor and Optimus Prime's Spark in my hands before this day is over," commanded Megatron, but instead of the ship lowering, it was now _moving_, and _away_ from the frozen Autobots while completely ignoring one Special Agent Fowler witnessing the event.

_Houston we have problem._

_**"No kidding Soundwave. I think this ship has just gained its own mind,"**_ said Jack with Megatron not believing that for a second and tried to make his ship come back under his command.

"What are you doing? I command you to obey and land!" ordered Megatron angrily.

_**"I obey no one. I am in command now,"**_ came a dark voice through the communication system of the Warship.

"I am Megatron. Lord of all the Decepticons. You will obey me or perish!" exclaimed Megatron before he felt an incredible amount of pain being sent to him via the ship.

_**"You are no longer in command. I am in control now,"**_countered the _Nemesis_ while the Decepticon Warlord was on one knee in pain before taking a moment to regain his footing.

"The ship also seems to be doing a better job at decoding the Iakon database even better then we are," remarked Knock Out when seeing the coordinates popup and Soundwave showed the location on his visor.

_**"New York City. The city so nice they named it twice Currently. Inhabited by several million humans. Judging by these coordinates, the relic is no doubt underground, and in the subway train system. Possibly somewhere under construction. Soundwave, zoom in on the city where the coordinates say the relic is located, and look for train tunnels," **_ordered Jack with Soundwave obeying and showing the nearest entry point closest to the relic.

"And there is our entry point," added Knock Out while Megatron growled at him.

"The Iakon relic can wait! Get me back control of my ship!" commanded Megatron with Soundwave moving quickly with his tentacles to attack to a terminal to gain access.

_**"No! Stop Soundwave!" **_exclaimed Jack in protest, but it was too late, and Soundwave was shocked right into stasis lock.

"That's not good," remarked Knock Out.

_**"This ship is now alive because of the dark energon. Any attempt to access any of the terminals on this ship will result in retaliation by it the instant we touch any of the consoles,"**_ said Jack with Megatron snarling and hating how his own Warship had turned against him.

"Then how the frack do we regain control?" asked Knock Out with Megatron ordering all personnel to remove key parts of the Warship to prevent it from functioning in certain areas.

The ship retaliated by putting all Decepticons and Insecticons in the hallway into stasis lock they couldn't escape. The only ones remaining were Megatron, Jack, and Knock Out with the latter going to the Iakon database on the screen to see several sets of coordinates for different relics on screen. The Decepticon Medic even suggested they let the ship do what it wants while focusing on the relics themselves...before being zapped into stasis lock by the _Nemesis_.

"This mutiny ends now!" exclaimed Megatron, as he recalled Jack mentioning the dark energon being the source of the ships actions, and thus removing the liquid substance of chaos from the power core.

The Decepticon Warlord was starting to appreciate Jack more and more for his repeated advise when it came to such matters.

_**"I cannot be stopped! My Will is absolute and cannot be challenged!"**_ spoke the every omniscient _Nemesis_ with it using the stasis beam on Megatron and turning the Warlord into a living statue.

_**"Scrap! Now I'm all alone,"**_ said Jack to himself, as he saw the state of his Master, who had a hand on the release system, and was a mere pull of the switch away from removing the dark energon from the power core.

So close and yet so far.

(Autobot Base)

"I've never seen a stasis lock like this before," commented Ratchet, as he scanned the now disabled Autobots, and scratched his head in confusion.

"They'll be okay though, right?" asked Miko while Ratchet nodded.

"Stasis lock isn't deadly. It merely puts them to what you humans call sleep or at best a form of unconsciousness. Though this case is most unusual since there is normally a time limit, which under normal circumstances would have expired by now, and they would be back to normal," answered Ratchet while still scanning them.

"Maybe...we should ask Airachnid for help?" asked Raf meekly.

"Absolutely not! That femme Decepticon can't know about our current situation Rafael. If Airachnid were to learn almost all the Autobots here at the base were disabled, she would not only try to get free, but I have no doubt would succeed, and then begin the slaughter of everyone here. We're just fortunate to some extent that Wheeljack wasn't among those in the group that got caught in the stasis beams!" exclaimed Ratchet furiously while glad that Optimus kept Wheeljack at the base to watch over Airachnid.

"Not to mention she's carrying Jack's kids," commented Miko with Ratchet sighing at that since it was true.

"Yes. There is that too. All the more reason to keep her here under watchful eyes. I've already expressed my concerns of how tricky Airachnid can be to Wheeljack and I need the two of you to stay away from her. Airachnid won't hesitate to hold either of you two hostage or tear your bodies apart. The only reason that didn't happen to Jack was due to either sheer luck or timely intervention from Arcee. Wheeljack and I can hold her off for a time given her current condition, but I don't want Airachnid to get so much as within grabbing distance," explained Ratchet, as she saw the children nod, and it was clear that they knew (especially Miko) that to get in Airachnid's line of sight would most likely spell doom for them all.

"What I don't get is why they didn't finish me off? That ship had me dead to rights!" exclaimed Fowler with Ratchet finding that to be another questionable thing.

"Yeah! I mean...the Decepticons even took off without retrieving that stupid Spark Extractor thingy. What gives?!" asked Miko with Ratchet scratching his chin in thought.

"Something is not right onboard the Decepticon Warship. Its not like Megatron to pass up an opportunity to kill Optimus in such a vulnerable position or retrieve such a dangerous weapon like the Spark Extractor," remarked Ratchet while wondering how to find out what was going on in that Warship.

"Why not just ask?" suggested Miko suddenly with Ratchet sputtering.

"What? Are you actually saying I should contact Megatron and _ask_ him what he's doing?" questioned Ratchet with Miko and Raf shrugging while Fowler did too when the Autobot Medic turned to look at him.

"You got a better idea Doc?" asked Wheeljack from his corner of the room.

"Wheeljack! First off, don't call me Doc! Second, why aren't you guarding Airachnid?!" exclaimed Ratchet with Wheeljack shrugging.

"The Spider Bot is still unconscious. I've wired her with explosives too so in the event she tries to leave her room...well its going to get _reeeaaal_ messy in there after things get loud," replied Wheeljack with Ratchet sputtering again.

"Have you gone insane?! Optimus would never approve of that. What if Airachnid tries to tinker with the bombs and they go off? She's carrying offspring in her for Primus sake! Do you really want to have their lifeblood on your hands?!" exclaimed Ratchet with his doctor like mind going nuts in his processor.

"Relax Doc. We both know Airachnid won't do anything once she sees the charges. If she has any sense of care for what is inside her, then she'll stay put, and won't do anything stupid," remarked Wheeljack with Ratchet growling at her.

"Its crazy and pure Wrecker style with no regard for the lives you have around this base. At least Bulkhead understood the meaning of restraint when it came to using force when others were around. Even if his improvement still left much to be desired," commented Ratchet with Wheeljack frowning.

"I just made sure Airachnid can't get free and that she thought twice before trying to get out of her restraints," countered Wheeljack.

"Nonetheless, please go back, and keep an eye on her. Just because she is restrained and now surrounded by explosives will not deter her from getting free," said Ratchet with the Wrecker shrugging.

"Might as well. I can't do anything useful in this area of the base given how its suddenly so crowded," replied Wheeljack while walking away to check on the Spider Bot.

"He's going to be the death of me. I just know it!" commented Ratchet before letting out a sigh.

"Well before Wheeljack does do that, how about you make contact Megatron, and find out what he's doing?" said Fowler with Ratchet letting out another sigh.

"Autobot Outpost Omega One to Decepticon Warship. Megatron please respond," said Ratchet while double checking to make sure their signal wasn't being traced.

_**"Megatron is no longer in command,"**_stated a voice no one at the base recognized.

"Who is this?" asked Ratchet knowing the voice was too deep to be Jack's.

_**"Who is this?"**_ the voice shot back.

"Have you taken control of the Decepticon vessel?" asked Ratchet while ignoring the voice's question.

_**"I **__**AM**__** the Decepticon vessel!"**_ bellowed the voice of the _Nemesis_.

"What happened to those onboard?" asked Ratchet before his screen was shown images of Decepticons frozen in stasis lock.

_**"They have been removed from active duty. I am in command and all who enter my domain will be met with hostile force,"**_ said the _Nemesis_.

"What do you plan to do now?" asked Ratchet in the hopes of learning more about the Warships unknown intentions.

_**"Following mission specifications of retrieving Iakon relics,"**_ answered the _Nemesis_ with Ratchet raising an eyebrow at the response.

"For what purpose?" asked Ratchet, who was met with silence, and then the line going dead.

"He hung up? Ruuude! stated Miko while Ratchet rolled his eyes.

"Rude?! There is a ship of mass destruction heading towards the Big Apple looking for alien relics and I'd bet Benjamin Franklin's glasses its not going to try getting it by asking politely!" exclaimed Fowler furiously before they were getting a communication from the ship again.

_**"Do you wish to obtain information about the Iakon relics?"**_ came a familiar voice they knew that was whispering to them.

"Jack?" asked Ratchet before he was met with silence.

_**"Yes. While I am loathed to help my Master's enemies, it would appear we now have a common enemy in the form of his Warship, and its insubordination is an **__**insult**__** to my Lord. As you no doubt aware, the ship is not cloaking itself due to its own perceived arrogance of superiority, and doesn't care if it is detected at all. This is not something my Lord would want and I will not allow the human governments of the world to track this ship just to destroy its occupants. I believe the only way to remove the stasis lock both sides are suffering from can only be done if the ship's new found freewill was removed. Lock onto my coordinates Ratchet, then proceed to Ground Bridge Miko, Raf, and Fowler to the Nemesis since your own presence will alert the ship before it puts you into stasis lock. If you assist me in removing the dark energon in the ship's core, **__**without**__** damaging the ship itself...I will allow you to take the coordinates of the Iakon relics the ship has decoded, and we will fight each other another day,"**_ stated Jack while sensing the shock coming from his enemies at their base.

"And what guarantee you will honor this agreement? The last time you made a deal with Optimus, you killed a protoform disguised as Miko, and brought Bulkhead into a rage," countered Ratchet with Miko shivering now since she had heard about that.

_**"It was to ensure that Optimus Prime didn't kill my one true Lord and Master in the event Dreadwing failed in his own negotiations. I swear upon my loyalty to Megatron that should you help me...I will complete my end of the bargain,"**_ answered Jack and was met with silence for a moment.

"Jack?" came the voice of the woman he didn't want to hear.

His Mother.

_**"What do you want?"**_ asked Jack coldly.

June flinched at his words. She knew he was angry at her. Meeting his Father for the first time in so many years, telling him that he was gone, never coming back, and that it was for the best. Her son had completed repressed his memories of Janus, not understanding why she had told him that at such a young age, and tried to be the proper son while never understanding the constant need to monitor everything he did. June had made it seem like she was a loving overprotective Mother, but in truth she had been watching him in case his techno-organic Nanomachines turned him into something truly monstrous, and in all honesty she feared more then loved her son.

"Come home Jack. Please?" begged June while Janus was beside her.

_**"Why? Why come back to a lie? Not only a lie, but a mediocre life of serving people burgers at a fast food place, and being watched by a human femme who doesn't love her son. I've seen my memories of you and the face you give at times is not concern for me, but rather of your **__**fear**__** of what I may become if your eyes stray for a mere second,"**_ replied Jack bitterly.

"Jack that's not true. I do love you. So does your Father!" exclaimed June, but was met with an angry growl, and she cringed when hearing it.

_**"Do **__**NOT**__** speak of him again. He's no Father of mine! Every breath he takes is an insult to me. If Janus is listening in and I know he is...let him know that the next time we see each other...he's a dead man!"**_ Jack said before ending the connection.

"What do we do?" asked Raf, as he was unsure what to make of this situation, and saw Ratchet looking unsure as well.

"What do you mean? We should take the risk! If Jack is helping us, then why not take it?!" Miko nearly shouted while Ratchet looked unsure.

"As much as I hate to admit it, the girl's got a point," Janus gruffly remarked.

"Janus!" exclaimed June while she looked at him.

"What? Risks have to be taken for achieving the overall goal. I can tell right now that Jack is taking one for even making the connection to communicate with us. Not only from being targeted by the ship, but by Megatron if the big guy ever found out!" said Janus with Ratchet sighing.

"As much as I dislike Janus's line of reasoning, he does have a point, and while I am hesitant to trust Jack completely...we have no other option before us," stated Ratchet before locking onto Jack's coordinates on the ship and activated the Ground Bridge.

"Wait! You're letting them go?" questioned June.

"Fowler will have the key to download the Iakon files, Rafael will be helping him with the download, and Miko...well she's going to go no matter what I do," answered Ratchet with a "Hey!" coming from the insulted girl.

"I can be useful! I can help Jack handle the Decepticon Warship while those two do the computer tech stuff," countered Miko with everyone groaning since her running off with Jack around the _Nemesis_ spelled disaster on so many levels.

"Just...do what you have to do," said Ratchet while opening up the Ground Bridge and the trio quickly entered it.

(_The_ _Nemesis_)

"Jack? Jack! Are you there?" whispered Miko though it was more like a loud whisper that wasn't really a whisper.

And was rewarded with a response in the form of Miko having her hair being pulled back while a sword was put to her throat.

_**"Next time you whisper, please do it in actual whisper, and not like what you just did. Understand?"**_ replied Jack into Miko's ear and the girl looked terrified at this moment after turning off the cloaking device that allowed him to stay undetected by the ship.

"Yes sir," answered Miko meekly.

_**"Good,"**_ replied Jack before releasing his grip on her and lowered his sword.

"What's the plan?" asked Fowler with Jack pointing to the frozen form of Knock Out in front of the computer terminal they would need to access the Iakon files and download what they would need.

_**"You and Raf can prepare to take what you need. Miko...you are with me and try not to do anything stupid,"**_ answered Jack while hating the fact he was doing this behind his Lord's back and prayed to Primus that Megatron would never find out about his hand in it.

"You make it sound like I do that on a daily basis," commented Miko while stomping her foot and pouting at him.

_**"Don't you always?"**_ asked Jack before they walked to the power core of the ship.

When they got there, Miko let out a gasp at the sight of Megatron frozen at the control needed to purge the dark energon from the ship, and turn it back into being just another Decepticon war machine. Glaring at Jack for not telling her about this, Miko decided to look around, and saw dark energon, and normal energon piled up in different areas. If the fact she wasn't on a Decepticon Warship, the Japanese native girl would have looked at the place in awe, and no doubt taken a picture.

"You didn't say Megatron was down here," remarked Miko finally.

_**"Its not relevant to the mission at hand. Now let's hurry. I don't know how long this ship's sensors will stay blind to my presence or the yours with the other two. The very moment is detects you, it will do everything in its power to destroy you, me, Raf, Agent Fowler, and cause problems no one in this world wants to deal with," **_countered Jack before grabbing the girl by the waist, earning him a "Hey!" from Miko, and slight scream when he leaped up to Megatron's bent knee before getting to the lever.

"You jerk! Warn me next time!" exclaimed Miko before Jack put a hand on her mouth made a "shush!" sound.

_**"Do you **__**want**__** the ship to hear you?"**_ questioned Jack with frustration in his voice.

It was so tempting right now to stab the girl and then lie to the others about the ship doing the deed.

"Warn a girl next time!" countered Miko while glaring Jack.

_**"What girl?"**_ was Jack's response before letting out a chuckle while Miko narrowed her eyes and growled at him.

"Let's get this over with," said Miko before looking at the handle, the large hand on it, and finally the body it was attached to with the body belonging to Megatron.

_**"Agreed. Stay here and push on the left side of the lever while I push on the right side of the lever. With any luck, this will work, and the power core will be purged of the dark energon," **_replied Jack before the two began to push the lever.

"And frees Megatron from his statue like state," remarked Miko sarcastically.

_**"Precisely,"**_ answered Jack while ignoring her sarcastic remark.

"What?" questioned Miko while looking at Jack after she stopped pushing.

_**"Why so surprised? What do you think is keeping both sides in stasis lock after being hit by that stasis beam? Somehow this ship has manipulated the stasis beam to trap our two sides in a stasis lock only it can relinquish. We both know it will not do such a thing anytime soon," **_said Jack with Miko backing away from the lever handle.

"Are you crazy? How am I going to escape from the ship if this guy wakes up from stasis lock while I'm still here?" questioned Miko while pointing at Megatron.

_**"Your not,"**_ answered Jack with Miko glaring at him.

"You lied! You set me up to be your prisoner!" exclaimed Miko with Jack shrugging.

.

_**"I agreed to let your side have Iakon relic coordinates. Mum was the word on whether there would be prisoners caught during the chaos of this mission,"**_ countered Jack, as he grinned at the girl behind his mask, and saw she was not liking this situation one bit.

_**"I am infested with **__**parasites**__**!"**_ came the voice of the ship after scanning its interior and saw the two.

"We've just been made," commented Miko with the metal claw like crane with the eye at the center glaring at them with its one red optic.

_**"I wonder how that happened? Maybe it has something to do with your voice being too **__**high**__**?!"**_ questioned Jack sarcastically with Miko glaring at him.

_**"All organisms will be removed from this ship!" **_bellowed the voice of the _Nemesis_.

_**"Target that one! She's in league with the group of Autobots you put into stasis lock earlier!"**_ remarked Jack with Miko looking pissed off.

"You jerk!" exclaimed Miko before ducking away from the claw.

_**"What? Its true!"**_ remarked Jack with amusement while Miko managed to climb down using Megatron's body before he did the same with greatest of ease.

_**"All organisms will be destroyed. Including you!"**_ said the _Nemesis_ before turning the claw on Jack with the boy dodging it with ease.

_**"Oh scrap!"**_ mumbled Jack, as he dodged the crane, and claw once more.

"I'll leave the two of you alone," replied Miko, as she ran off to rejoin the others, and hope the ship didn't do anything to them.

For a moment, Jack was tempted to launch his sword at the girl's unsuspecting back, but decided against it since the claw currently trying to crush him was more important, and the loyal subordinate of Megatron was confident he could kill her at a later time. Still, it would have to be fast since it was only a matter of time before the humans he let on the ship were informed of his planned action in having Miko as a prisoner, and they would decide to take what they had before making a run for it while leaving the lone warrior to fight the large vessel himself. Drawing his sword from its sheathe, Jack got ready for the crane coming at him, and leaped _toward_ the thing before stabbing the red eye the ship was using to get a better look at its target.

_**"You'll pay for that insect!"**_ bellowed the _Nemesis_ with Jack leaping out of the range of the crane before moving into position with his back to Megatron's own.

_**"Then do something about it. Or is the big bad ship afraid of me?"**_ challenged Jack and heard the anger filled yell coming from the ship.

_**"I fear nothing! NOTHING!"**_ exclaimed the _Nemesis_ while using the room's various cameras to get a better view of Jack and target him accordingly.

_**"Prove it!"**_ exclaimed Jack with the crane and claw like device moving towards him at high speed.

Only for Jack to move out of the way so the living mechanical projectile and let it hit the back of Megatron's leg. With this hit to the back of Megatron's leg, the knee bent at just enough of an angle where the Decepticon Warlord's _upper body_ provided weight when gravity kicked in, and made the big man fall down onto his back while the lever for the handle he was holding being pulled down to purge the dark energon from the power core.

One problem down. Three little human pests to go.

Unfortunately for Jack, he was so focused on his objective, his senses failed to warn him of the cube of dark energon that was wobbling among a stack of them, and it fell right on top of his body. Due to his fast reflexes, Jack was able to slice through the bottom of the cube so it wouldn't crush him at the last second, and found himself _swimming_ in the dark substance. The boy screamed into the liquid, his oxygen (what little he had) was leaving his lungs, and was now being filled by the large quantity of dark energon. Chaos in liquid form was being absorbed into his body, the body itself was screaming like it was on fire, and his mind being shown images all over that were of memories that did not belong to him.

They were the memories...of _Unicron_!

_**My so called Progeny. Perhaps the Prime was not mistaken after all when he declared your species such a thing.**_

All Jack could do was scream despite his lungs protesting and darkness soon took him.

(With Miko, Raf, and Fowler-A Short Time Later)

"On your feet soldier!" exclaimed Miko while helping Agent Fowler get up after he got a really nasty shock for trying to access the terminal and made the ship suspect other kinds of life forms were inside.

"...and beavers and ducks and walnuts and Grandma..." was Fowler's response since the shock to his body had clearly made his mind wander far off from the rational.

Raf was on the terminal watching the Iakon files being downloaded with only four sets of coordinates being deciphered by the ship just before the dark energon was purged from the power core. When Miko came back, Raf asked what happened with Jack, and the girl told him about Jack's plan to make her a prisoner after removing its sudden freewill from the _Nemesis_. It had only been the ship's sudden focus on Jack that she got away and knew it wouldn't be long before one of them was the victor.

"We've got about a quarter downloaded and four sets of coordinates so far," answered Raf while Miko struggled to bring out her cell phone.

"Ratchet, we got what we can from the terminal. All the Cons on the ship will come out of stasis lock any moment!" exclaimed Miko into her cell.

"Understood. The others are coming around right now too. I'll activate the Ground Bridge and help you get the transfer drive out. What about Jack?" replied Ratchet with Miko not answering him and only heard something that sounded like a whimper.

_**"Jack is fine Ratchet. Though one of your three human allies could be better and the fate of the other two has yet to be decided,"**_ replied Jack his body covered in purple like aura from the dark energon, he was pointing his sword at Miko, who was still holding Agent Fowler, and neither human was currently capable of fighting off the human turned Decepticon warrior.

"If you hurt any of them Jack I'll...," threatened Ratchet with Jack letting out a chuckle.

_**"You'll do what? You want these three back? Come and get them yourself. Oh and you better hurry. Everyone is starting to wake up around here,"**_ countered Jack with a dark growl coming from his throat before the line was ended abruptly and not in the way a cell phone normally ended a call.

The cell was destroyed.

"Hey you jerk! I needed that!" exclaimed Miko while sounding a bit like Ratchet while seeing her cell phone was cut in half and now she lost all those wonderful pictures in the process.

_**"Consider it incentive for Ratchet to Ground Bridge you out of here worm. Be lucky I don't kill you three now!"**_ countered Jack while his eyes went from red to purple and back again though Miko didn't notice since her attention was on the sword in his hands.

Sure enough the Ground Bridge soon opened with Ratchet coming through it just in time to see Knock Out beginning to stir near Raf while Miko was still holding Agent Fowler.

As for Jack...he was nowhere to be seen by the Medic's optics.

"Jack took off. He used that cloaking device and said there would be no more mercy from him in the future," explained Miko while not believing it herself and wondered what was going through her former friend's head.

"Get Fowler through the Ground Bridge. I'll get Rafael and the transfer drive," ordered Ratchet while wondering where Jack was a the moment.

"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Knock Out, as he took a swing at Ratchet, but missed due to being off his game since he had yet to throw off the dizziness he felt from the stasis lock, and got a punch back in return by the Autobot Medic.

"Seeing as I'm the more _professional___doctor between us, my opinion on this matter out ranks yours Knock Out," remarked Ratchet before picking up Raf and the transfer drive before they headed into the Ground Bridge that closed behind them.

With Megatron walking into the area to see Knock Out on the ground trying to recover.

"M-My Lord...," stammered Knock Out with Megatron snarling at him.

"You let them _escape_! _And_ with vital intelligence!" exclaimed Megatron furiously, as he saw the four set of coordinates for Iakon relics on the screen, and knew time was of the essence.

A race for four Iakon relics had begun.

(Autobot Base)

"All things considered, the outcome could have been much worse," said Ratchet after he had explained what happened on the Decepticon Warship.

"Jack threatened Miko twice with his sword and planned to hold her hostage. I'm going to crush that fleshy punk!" exclaimed Bulkhead while smashing his fists together.

"What I don't understand is why he didn't do anything before Ratchet arrived to help us?" questioned Raf while scratching his head in confusion.

"I find that to be troubling as well. But it was most likely due to Jack seeing that the three of you needed to escape to prevent Megatron from learning it was because of him that you were allowed on the ship from the start," answered Optimus with the others nodding since Jack wouldn't be in Megatron's good graces if the Decepticon Warlord learned that bit of information.

"Regardless, we now have four sets of coordinates for Iakon relics. We'll need to move fast to get each one before the Decepticons do," replied Ratchet with Optimus nodding.

"Indeed we will old friend. This is a race against time and in order to win this race...we must divide our resources accordingly," answered Optimus with Ratchet nearly sputtering at his plan.

"Optimus! You can't be serious! Our forces our thin enough as it is. Going after all four relics in such a manner puts us in a dangerous position. Not only that, but who will stand guard at the base to watch Airachnid? She maybe unconscious now and has bombs all over her room, but we both know that will only hold for so long," said Ratchet while he saw Optimus narrow his optics at Wheeljack for a moment since only the Wrecker had such devices in stock on his ship.

"While I do not wish to leave Airachnid unattended, we have more pressing matters to attend to regarding the four relics the Decepticons are no doubt planning to retrieve at this very moment," answered Optimus with Ratchet sighing.

"Give how the Decepticon Warship is heading for that place first right there, chances are that's the first stop they're going to make, and then send three other groups to those three other relic locations," Wheeljack pointed out and saw the monitor show New York City.

"Then we will send the first team there and proceed with splitting up the others to the remaining three relic coordinates. Bumblebee and Arcee will go with Miko and Agent Fowler to this heavily populated area," ordered Optimus before looking at Fowler now mumbling gibberish while June was looking him over.

"That..._might_ be a problem in regards to Agent Fowler's participation," remarked Ratchet with Optimus fighting back a grimace.

"I can still go, right?" asked Miko excitedly while several of Team Prime groaned while wondering where the girl got the energy?!

"Miko," said Bulkhead in a reprimanding tone.

"Come on Bulk! Jack got to go to Cybertron and see where Vector Sigma was located!" exclaimed Miko while Wheeljack's optics widening since that was new information to him.

"He also nearly got killed by an Insecticon there, fought off Scraplets, and was captured by Megatron to become what he is now shortly after spending Months on the Warship you just left," remarked Arcee with a scowl and Miko returned it.

"As much as I would like to keep Miko out of harms way, we cannot allow our cover to be exposed, and she will be with Bumblebee during the mission to ensure humans in this city do not learn of our existence," commanded Optimus and saw the girl leap into the air in excitement while Bulkhead let out a groan.

"And I can't go because I'm not much of a city person and I need to help Agent Fowler. Not to mention keep an eye on Janus," remarked June before she noticed Janus was not in the main area.

(With Janus)

"I know you're not unconscious. You're too tough to be knocked out this long by a single punch to the head," said Janus, as he was in Airachnid's room, and saw the Decepticon femme moved slightly to get a better look at him.

"So you're my Jack's male sire. I can see the years have not been kind to you," remarked Airachnid with her optics scanning the man's face to see he time and stress had done a number on him.

"True enough. I also know you did a number on my son with his scars on his body and his mind before he joined the ranks of your former employer," countered Janus with the Spider Bot smirking at him.

"You're smart and clever for a human. I can see where Jack gets his brains and wit from. Hopefully, my Sparklings will inherit that same trait, and be just a clever as my Jack," said Airachnid while she was on her back in the berth, arms (all of them), and legs in Cybertronian cuffs while the bombs Wheeljack put around her to ensure she didn't try to get out of the cuffs were in place.

"My boy is unique. I must admit, hearing him getting a woman pregnant at such a young age was shocking, but the fact it was one of a different species brought the situation to a whole new level, and in a way...I'm proud of him," answered Janus with Airachnid now raising an eyebrow.

"Proud? I guess its true about you human males and your desire to sleep with beautiful alien femmes being an unreachable fantasy," remarked Airachnid with Janus laughing.

"Yeah. It is true when it come to most men, who look up at the stars in longing, and often wish to explore the vast ocean of space. While not for the reason you stated, I won't lie, and say that won't be one of the first things we'd do if given the chance. Still, I can now say proudly my boy beat every male dream of such a fantasy to the punch, and will soon be a Father in the process," replied Janus with a smile.

"He doesn't know. I can't tell him. Not yet," said Airachnid with Janus nodding.

"I figured as much. For all my son's strength and power while serving under the banner of the Decepticons, he is sadly a puppet bowing to the whims of Megatron. Whether or not he cuts those strings himself or Megatron does it for him to bring about a different action remains to be seen," replied Janus while letting out a sigh.

"You never did tell the Autobots how _you_ got those Nanomachines in the first place," questioned Airachnid since she had made sure to keep her sensors on alert while faking her unconscious state.

"And good reason. They were of alien origin," answered Janus with Airachnid smirking at him.

"They were of _Cybertronian_ origin. I saw the same samples Megatron was shown on his Warship when we first had Jack under less then..._hospitable _conditions. So how did you get such things in your possession? Just between us," asked Airachnid with a smirk on her face.

"I didn't come across them actually. They had actually been in possession of the current human government of this land you're current in. Way back in the 1950s in Roswell New Mexico, which given the present date was over 60 years ago, and before I was born did government soldiers discovered an alien spaceship that crashed landed there," answered Janus with Airachnid looking at him with interest now.

"Autobot or Decepticon?" asked Airachnid with Janus shaking his head.

"We couldn't tell. The symbol on the ship that would have told us was damaged. It clearly burned clean off when entering into our atmosphere. It was single passenger ship for one of your kind and the pilot himself was dead. He took a piece of shrapnel to the chest and was killed instantly from what I read of the report that was remotely readable. He must have been scientist because those Nanomachines were in a highly secure vault that was only accessible due to the damage done to the ship. Even then, it took the team hours to get through the small damaged parts of the doors, and create a proper path through the wreckage," answered Janus with Airachnid thinking back to when Nanomachine research had been removed years before the war even started.

Sentinel Prime had actually scraped the idea when proposed before him, and the rest of the Council about the possible applications such tiny devices could do for their bodies. However, Sentinel claimed they were too unpredictable, but one scientist wished to try, even if it was by himself, and was instantly banned from the Science Division for his constant pressuring about the matter. Airachnid remembered from the history logs she accessed after Iakon fell that Sentinel went a step further and banished that scientist from Cybertron to further ensure he wouldn't try to gather any supporters on the matter. Now it seemed after all those years of being in exile, that very same scientist had crashed on this planet, and had gone against Sentinel Prime's orders.

Funny how the Universe worked in mysterious ways.

"And you inherited the project?" asked Airachnid while Janus nodding.

"At the time, humans didn't have the technology, or even procedures in place to handle such wonders contained in that massive jar. I had just got out of College when I was recruited by a military scout, who was looking for some fresh blood to add to their ranks, and the order was given to study them. By that time, the technology had caught up to the point where the Nanomachines could be studied, and being the prodigy I was back then they decided it was best suited in my hands if I was interested. Naturally, I was more then interested, and so long as I didn't ask _where_ they came from I wouldn't suffer any kind of 'mysterious accident' while working on the project," answered Janus with a sigh while he ran a hand through his hair.

"You know, I should try to break free of my cuffs, and risk the possibility of being blown up to rip through your body for trying to kill my Jack when he was just a Sparkling. But with what I have inside of me, it would be foolish to try, and I will not put my Sparklings in danger out of petty revenge," answered Airachnid before looking past Janus to see the blue Autobot femme she had tormented in the past.

"I see you're feeling better," remarked Arcee while glaring at Airachnid.

"As are you it seems Arcee. You're taking the news about Jack being a Father to my little Sparklings very well. Though I wonder if you'd be this grouchy if _you_ were in my place?" questioned Airachnid with Arcee scowling further at her.

"Jack and I didn't have that relationship Airachnid. We were partners, but not on that kind of level," said Arcee with Airachnid smirking at her.

"I almost pity you. Jack would have been a great lover. I can see it now. So supporting. So comforting. So understanding. You missed out big time...as usual," replied Airachnid while Arcee aimed her right arm's blasters at the Spider Bot.

"I should kill you right now for what you've done to me during the war, what you did to Jack, and the fact you're carrying what will no doubt be monsters inside your body," said Arcee while Airachnid smirked.

"But you won't. You can't. You can't stand the idea of telling Jack that his offspring that are inside of me died either by your hands or under your watch. That you did nothing to make sure our shared Sparklings were protected not only from Megatron, but by the others, and even from yourself. We both know what will happen that happens Arcee. My Jack will become vengeful. His subconscious mind will no longer hold back the location of this base from Megatron and my Jack will never stop hunting you or any other Autobot in existence down. I am the only thing right now keeping him from unleashing his rage and fury you can't stop from being unleashed," countered Airachnid with Arcee glaring at the Decepticon femme.

"The Jack I know isn't there anymore. He's a monster. Just like you. Just like your the Sparklings will be if allowed to be brought into this world," remarked Arcee angrily.

"Are you saying that because I of all Cybertronian femmes am going to be the first ever Cybertronian Mother since the time of the Thirteen Primes? Or are you just saying that because these Sparklings Jack helped in creating within me aren't _yours_?!" questioned Airachnid, who saw Arcee becoming livid, her vocal systems generating a sound that expressed the fury she felt, and was about to fire when Optimus came into the room before grabbing the blaster arm.

"Enough! Arcee, go to the Ground Bridge now! Bumblebee and Miko are waiting for you," commanded Optimus with his optics looking at Arcee's anger filled ones.

"This isn't over," was Arcee's response before she left the Prime and the Spider Bot in the room while taking Janus back to the main area.

"Airachnid, I trust you won't try anything while in this state?" questioned Optimus with the Spider Bot smiling at him.

"Considering my restraints and the various _accessories_ around me...would you expect me to do something?" asked Airachnid with Optimus narrowing his optics at her.

"I do not know if you care about Jack or if you are using him for some twisted game to further torture his mind Airachnid. However, I am most interested in seeing life of our people brought into this world regardless of how it has happened with you being the Mother of new Cybertronians. If you are indeed using this to hurt Jack and Arcee in anyway possible...I will take your life _after_ their birth of the Sparklings," stated Optimus while Airachnid had a sad look on her face.

"I'll admit, the idea of using this to mess with Arcee further is tempting. Considering our history during the war and what transpired before that with Tailgate being our connection to what caused me to be what I am. But my Jack...I don't want him to suffer anymore by my hands. He is special to me Optimus Prime. I will not allow Jack to live knowing he has outlived his own offspring that met their end by own foolishness. If Megatron were to learn of this, he would turn my beautiful Sparklings into something monstrous, and into his pawns for war. But you Optimus...you wouldn't do that to them. I may not like the Autobots for my own reasons, but if I had to choose which side to entrust my Sparklings in the event I became one with the All Spark...I'd choose you, and the Autobots to protect them from harm," answered Airachnid truthfully much to Optimus's surprise.

"Do you swear on the life of the Sparklings inside of you that no escape attempt will be made while here?" asked Optimus with Airachnid nodding.

"Where else can I go? If Megatron doesn't try to hunt me down, it will be M.E.C.H. with their desire to dissect everything that makes Cybertronians tick, and we both know that is not something I intend to happen with my Sparklings," answered Airachnid, but it wasn't enough for the Prime, and he wanted more.

"I need to hear you say it Airachnid. Do you swear on the life of the Sparklings inside of you that there will be no escape attempt on your part?" said Optimus with Airachnid just nodding at him.

"I swear it Optimus. For the sake of my little ones, I will be a good spider, and play nice with the others here at your base. _But_, I want a promise from _you_ that no one from Team Prime tries to hurt me, or hurt my precious ones here growing inside this body of mine," replied Airachnid while Optimus nodded.

"I promise you Airachnid that no one on this team shall cause harm to the life you carry inside. While I know of your distaste for Autobots in general, do not hate all us all for the foolishness of the one that took your once potential Sparkmate, and those that gave him the order," answered Optimus with Airachnid narrowing her optics at him.

"Too little too late for being sorry for past deeds Prime. But any promise made by you is worth its weight equal to high grade energon so I'll accept it," said Airachnid though she wasn't sure if Prime could keep his people in line in upholding the promise he made to her today.

If Optimus couldn't...Primus should show mercy because deep in Airachnid's Spark she knew Jack would not.

(_The Nemesis_)

Jack sat in his room, his mind processing everything he had done, and should _NOT_ have done regarding those three humans allied with the Autobots. What he had done was a great offense to Megatron, but basically told everyone his loyalty was not absolute, and if Decepticon Warlord found out...there was no place for Jack to run. He would be hunted by the Decepticons, M.E.C.H. with Silas no doubt salivating over the idea of ripping him apart to make more like him, and then there was of course the Autobots though Optimus Prime would most likely have him restrained before having Ratchet do tests in order to reverse some of the things done to his body.

But why? Why did he allow them to escape? Why not grab the girl,? Or the government agent? Or even the genius for a boy with glasses? It didn't make sense! Why did he take such a risk?

_**Because you are not a Decepticon. You are human. You are chaos made flesh despite your code of honor. You still have your humanity. Humanity that I wish to see forges a new era of chaos under my command!**_

Great now he was hearing the voice of Unicron in his head.

'No! I am an extension of Lord Megatron's Will! Not yours!' thought Jack with Unicron letting out a chuckle.

_**If you say so my boy. Whatever the reason, you couldn't let them be captured because you know them, they were your friends once, and you would be betraying the very convictions the samurai are known for back during the height of their power. If you followed through with it, then you would be turning your back on the ways of the samurai, and be a hypocrite. Is that what you want my offspring?**_

'No! I am a samurai. I am a samurai in the service of Lord Megatron. A samurai is a true warrior of honor who fights for his Lord and mine is him. And stop calling me your offspring! I am not your son!' thought Jack while the voice of Unicron seemed amused.

_**Perhaps. But there will come a time when you may find yourself leaving his service and become what is known as a ronin. Can you do that? Be without a Master?! To live your own life without taking orders? How will you live? You can't! Do you even know what the people in Jasper Nevada are saying about you? If anyone aside from your own Mother even knows you are gone?**_

'Shut up! I won't leave my Master. I have no reason to abandon him,' thought Jack while waiting for the voice to speak.

_**True. You have no reason to abandon him at the moment. But we know there is always something that makes us do what we never thought we would do. The Disciple of Primus and Megatron are proof of that if you recall Ratchet's story of how Orion Pax became Optimus Prime.**_

'That was different! How do you even know about that story?' thought Jack with the voice mocking him now.

_**Oh really? No one expected Orion to become a Prime. No one expected Megatron to attack Cybertron out of scorn for being denied his desire to be made the next Prime. No one expected you to become Megatron's loyal samurai warrior. As for how I even know these things...I've seen your memories. I heard how this Optimus Prime came into existence through the hands of my own brother after he became one with Cybertron. Not that it matters at the moment, as you have already started to begin your first true step into being an agent of chaos, and proving you are in fact my Progeny.**_

'I get it! I get it! Still, I don't see _that_ happening anytime soon given my current situation with the Autobots. What _did_ happen on this ship was a one time thing for me. There will be no repeats of this and I won't let you influence me!' thought Jack before standing up and leaving his room to head for the bridge while blocking out the smirking ghostly image of Unicron from his mind.

"Ah! Jack, I was just about to summon you for a mission," said Megatron with Jack once more kneeling in presence.

_**"To help retrieve one of the four Iakon relics?"**_ asked Jack with Megatron nodding.

"Yes. We are nearing the human populated city. Knock Out and few of my troops will be there to retrieve the relic with the help of an Insecticon. I want you there to supervise since your knowledge of heavily human populated areas and the city itself will prove to be beneficial in getting what we need quickly before the Autobots do with their own human allies," stated Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"I'll leave at once my Lord,"**_ replied Jack before heading over to Knock Out, the other Vehicons, and the one Insecticon were waiting for him.

"One more thing Jack," said Megatron.

_**"Yes my Lord?"**_ asked Jack before turning to look at his one true Lord and Master.

"If you happen to fight any of the Autobots that Prime will send for the relic...I expect you to return here with the item in your hands...or the _Spark_ of the Autobot that tried to take it from you," ordered Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"As you command Lord Megatron,"**_ replied Jack before they were gone via Ground Bridge thanks to Soundwave.

"Soundwave, something is wrong with Jack. I can feel it in my Spark. The empty cube of dark energon further proves this and I suspect my subordinate was unwillingly exposed to the liquid chaos that made my Warship disobey me," remarked Megatron while hoping the boy didn't get any ideas like his vessel did.

_?_

"I don't know what we can do at the moment regarding whether he is loyal to me. For now, I will watch Jack myself. You will head to one of the coordinates we have for one of the Iakon relics," answered Megatron with Soundwave nodding and departing from the bridge for the hanger so he could transform into his alt. mode to fly to his destination.

Inside his Spark chamber, the dark energon pulsed slightly, and it made Megatron frown with some concern before shrugging it off for the moment.

(A/N: YAY! Another update for all of you. Hope you loved how things played out. Until next time...PEACE!)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8-Twsited Soul

Jack walked through the under construction area of the subway train system. Beside him was Knock Out, who was complaining about how the relic was in such a filthy place, and how his paint job was going to be ruined yet again. Behind Jack were Vehicons and one Insecticon that Megatron had join the group not only for the added muscled, but because the large bug like Cybertronian could dig where the drills used to mine energon could not in such cramped spaces. That and h the risk of damaging the relic would be decreased to the point where only the Insecticon being clumsy would result in the destruction of the item they were seeking.

_**"Will you be quiet Knock Out. So what if its a little dank, dark, and dusty down here? No one else in our group is complaining about it,"**_ said Jack while getting fed up with the Decepticon's whining.

"That's because no one looks as good as I do," countered Knock Out while Jack let out a sigh.

"_**Complain one more time Knock Out and I'll give you a scratch on your paint job so deep not even the most advanced buffer system can get it out,"**_ threatened Jack with the vain Decepticon shutting his mouth.

"So...how close are we to this Iakon relic?" asked Knock Out while Jack was looking at his scanner on the wrist of his left arm.

"We're close. Should be about...here! Behind this wall," answered Jack before slashing it with his sword to make a large "X" symbol.

"Time to dig," remarked Knock Out to the Insecticon with the giant insect like Decepticon heading toward the marked wall.

_**"Watch it! You almost stepped on the third rail line! Stepping on that and will give you the electric shock of a lifetime. If could also be your last,"**_warned Jack to Knock Out, the Vehicons, and the Insecticon.

"Duly noted," replied Knock Out while the others nodded and the Insecticon began to dig for the relic.

_**"Continue supervise the digging Knock Out. I'm going to be scouting for our enemies no doubt poking around down here for the relic,"**_ stated Jack with Knock Out nodding.

"Happy hunting!" exclaimed Knock Out with Jack scoffing and activated his cloaking device.

_**It is no wonder Megatron could not defeat the Follower of Primus in the past. With a vain weak subordinate such as that one, it is amazing the Prime hasn't won the war, and defeated your so called Lord of all Decepticons.**_

_**"Shut up! I will not tolerate you insulting him," **_mumbled Jack before feeling a pain in the back of his skull.

_**Prideful child! You dare speak to me as if you are my equal! I am your sire! You will give me the respect I deserve!**_

_**"Like you gave us when Optimus first told you of the species you created? As I recall you said we were parasites,"**_ challenged Jack while Unicron growled.

_**Because the entire human race is a species of parasites. You are the only one to evolve beyond such a level and are worthy of my attention. You have potential. A destiny that could bring about a new era of chaos. You are the only human worthy of being called my offspring.**_

_**"Don't take this the wrong way, but...I don't really enjoy being called that least of all by you,"**_ replied Jack with Unicron letting out a chuckle.

_**You are stuck with me young one. So long as my blood runs through your body. You are my herald just as you are Megatron's servant. The only difference is my authority is absolute. My commands are final. Do not even think of defying me like Megatron did not that long ago. I can do far worse to your body then I ever did his own.**_

_**"I'll keep that in mind,"**_ replied Jack before he heard movement up ahead.

"And I thought some of the places back at the base were cramped," remarked the voice of a femme that Jack recognized as Arcee.

"Well I doubt us humans had Autobots on the brain when we had the size of this place in mind," said Miko while Bumblebee put in his own opinion with beeps and whistles.

"No I am not still thinking about Airachnid! We have a mission to complete. Its bad enough we have her at the base, but the fact she's with Sparklings is another, and add to the fact they're Jack's...," was all Arcee could say at the moment because it hurt to say anything else.

'Airachnid...she's carrying my children?' thought Jack, as he was so stunned by this news that the boy failed to notice Miko walking right past him through a small pipe like tunnel too big for the two Autobots behind her.

"I'll go this way and you guys can try going around to a much bigger area," said Miko while pointing in the direction she was headed to Arcee and Bumblebee.

"We could smash through this area too," offered Arcee with Bumblebee shaking his head and scolding her for such an idea.

_"And risk humans finding out about us or alerting the Decepticons? Optimus wouldn't approve,"_ said Bumblebee with Arcee letting out a sigh.

"You're right. Jack wouldn't either. I can hear him now. 'Arcee, you shouldn't do that. Its not a good idea. Humans work down here and would come to inspect the sound. The last thing they would need to see is giant robots' or something along those line," remarked Arcee with small grin on her face while Jack's eyes narrowed and his anger was now beginning to rise.

_**She mocks you my boy. After all you've done to help Arcee with the pain of losing those close to her Spark. Its insulting! You should take your sword and slice her to pieces!**_

Jack could only nod. Unicron's words struck true to him. How many times did he help Arcee through her demons. Facing Airachnid? Facing the loss of someone close to her Spark? Helped her feel life is worth living no matter how dark? And this was how she repaid him in secret? Behind his back?! No more!

_"Don't be so hard on Jack. He cared about you? Maybe he still does! Just because you're bitter over Airachnid being the one to carry his Sparklings isn't grounds to insult him,"_ countered Bumblebee with his words unknowingly staying Jack's action to reveal himself and slice into them both.

_**What are you waiting for? Kill them both! OBEY ME!**_

'Shut up! I want to hear this!' thought Jack while wincing at the pain Unicron was sending through his body for his disobedience.

"I am not bitter!" exclaimed Arcee, but her tone told the Scout she was either lying, or trying to fool herself.

Probably both.

_"Then why didn't you kill her after finding out the truth when you had the chance? And don't say its because of the life growing inside of Airachnid because that's a bunch of exhaust and you know it!"_ challenged Bumblebee and again his words made Jack feel anger at the image of Arcee killing Airachnid while pregnant with his children.

He could feel the dark energon in him practically glow to match his rage.

"Okay! Okay! I'll admit it. I am bitter. Bitter as spoiled energon. Don't you think I was tempted to blow Airachnid's head off?! I was tempted. So tempted when she told me about Jack being instrumental in the Sparklings growing inside her. But I didn't do it. I have more control then that," answered Arcee while Jack calmed down slightly though it wasn't by much.

_"Clearly. Now let's go find Miko before the Decepticons do or she gets lost. Bulkhead will have my aft if something happens to her,"_ replied Bumblebee with Arcee nodding.

(The Arctic Circle)

Optimus had Ground Bridged to the cold region where the Iakon relic was located. It was colder then the last time he was here, but not too cold like the first, and was thanking Primus for that. Looking around, Optimus saw the wintery land around him was filled with heavy winds, light snow fall, and temperatures that humans shouldn't be in unless they had plenty of insulation. The relic wasn't far from his location, which meant it would not be long before the Decepticons arrived with their own group.

Optimus wondered if Jack would be among them. The boy had done so much for the Autobots and for Prime himself. So much responsibility put on the boy at such a young age (for a human) and expected to do things that humans twice his age would be terrified doing. Optimus felt his Spark ache when he recalled how Jack had risked his life to bring back the Prime's memories, only to be injured, and then captured by Megatron. To know that the boy was tortured for information before being twisted into that horror Megatron had turned Jack into when the boy wouldn't give the Decepticon Warlord anything.

And the boy's own secrets. Oh Primus how could Optimus forget those when they were revealed to everyone. Nanomachines. His own sire trying to kill him. And now the boy was going to be a sire himself without even knowing.

'Jack, I pray that one of the relics we find will in be able to reverse what Megatron has done to you,' thought Optimus while walking through the snowy terrain.

And found the site of where the relic was located. Or rather where it was _suppose_ to be located with a group of Decepticons led by Dreadwing in that area. Deciding to try a non violent way of doing things, Optimus made his way over to the Decepticons, and was a bit surprised to see a shackled Starscream there.

"I will only ask you this once Prime. Surrender the relic," commanded Dreadwing with Optimus looking at the group cautiously.

"I was about to ask the same thing as you Dreadwing," replied Optimus with Dreadwing snarling at him.

"So neither of us has the relic. That means humans have taken it. I almost wish Jack was here," said Dreadwing with Optimus narrowing his optics.

"Jack? Is that the name of a human? Since when has Megatron started using the services of humans in his ranks?" asked Starscream since this was new to him.

"The day one of them became worthy of being his subordinate. Something I have long since recognized after Jack helped in assisting me in saving Lord Megatron," answered Dreadwing with Optimus readying his arm cannon.

"Where is Jack?" asked Optimus with Dreadwing smirking at him.

"On a mission to retrieve an Iakon relic in the name of our one true Lord and Master. He has proven to be instrumental on many occasions Prime. I can see why you held him in such high regard when serving under your command. Jack would have made a fine Prime if he were an Autobot, but sadly for you, my Lord has felt his talents were better suited being under his command as you well know, and is serving proudly as third-in-command among Megatron's ranks," stated Dreadwing while seeing Optimus's optics narrowing even further in anger.

"What?! Some filthy human is serving Megatron loyally with a rank that high? Its just not possible!" exclaimed Starscream before being struck by one of the Vehicons.

"Believe what you will traitor, but the boy is indeed a great warrior in the making. I admit freely I had doubts about Jack's ability to serve while being in Megatron's service, but I have seen his potential first hand, and know now that the boy is truly a warrior worthy of my respect. He is worthy of being called a Decepticon," countered Dreadwing while he looked back at Starscream before turning his attention back to Optimus, who had heard enough, and charged forward shooting at Megatron's second-in-command.

'I don't believe this! Some filthy human has quickly risen to a key position that I myself took almost two centuries to achieve and has Megatron's high praise. Not to mention these relics are clearly important to both Megatron and Optimus Prime. If I could get a hold of at least one of these relics, I could turn things in my favor, and even terminate Megatron to take my rightful place as the leader of the Decepticons!' thought Starscream while witnessing the battle between Dreadwing and Optimus Prime.

"You should have taken better care of the human boy when he was on your side Optimus. Such potential was wasted on the sidelines among your ranks," mocked Dreadwing while shooting at the Prime firing back at him.

"We will save Jack and reverse what was done to him by Megatron," countered Optimus while shooting at Dreadwing.

"You cannot reverse what has been done Prime. That boy kneels before Lord Megatron regardless of his condition. If Megatron gave the order, I have no doubt Jack would end his life to prove his loyalty to our shared Master is absolute, and there is nothing you can do to change it Prime!" exclaimed Dreadwing knowing it hurt the Prime to know this truth.

"Your blind faith in Megatron's command and Jack's loyalty to him will be your undoing Dreadwing," replied Optimus, as he shot behind Dreadwing, and used the icy cliff side behind them to make an avalanche happen.

It was times like this that Dreadwing preferred that scenery in the Solidogram Jack had enjoyed back on the ship.

(New York City)

Knock Out grit his teeth. His body had been ground against the rails, he was hit by a small human guided vehicle, and it had _ruined_ his paint job. The vain Decepticon was livid, and was going to retaliate when he saw Bumble Bee along with Arcee aiming their blasters at him. The Insecticon had been killed by the third rail Jack had warned them all about, the Vehicons were blasted apart, and Jack...he was nowhere to be found.

"You'll regret this!" exclaimed Knock Out before he transformed and rolled out while losing one of his wheel.

"What is that?" asked Miko while seeing the device on Bumble Bee's arm.

"Phase Shifter. Used to go through things or bring things out," explained Arcee before her six sense kicked in and moved out of the way of a sword covering with electricity aimed at her head.

A sword wielded by Jack.

The warrior slid along the rail, his sword scraping against the ground, and bloodlust was practically shooting out of his eyes. He had been so caught up in his revelations regarding Arcee's words about Airachnid being pregnant that he let them get by and fight for the relic. In all honesty, Jack didn't care for the relic, and didn't care who got the damn thing due to his priorities shifting dramatically from what he had heard Arcee say about the Spider Bot.

_**Kill the femme Autobot my Progeny. Kill all those Autobots that follow the Prime!**_

'Shut up! I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for myself and Airachnid!' thought Jack, as he moved quickly towards Arcee, dodging blast after blast from Bumble Bee, and the blue femme while Miko ran for cover.

The human Decepticon warrior moved faster then Arcee or Bumblebee could track with their optics. They fired blast after blast, but Jack was too fast, too agile, and too focused on his targets to be hit. He aimed his strike at Bumble Bee, but the Autobot used the Phase Shifter, and Jack went right through him. Arcee used this moment to blast her former partner with a blast of energy that hit his side, the impact of it sent him flying into the wall, and it was here that Jack was bombarded with blast after blast from Arcee's arm cannon.

"Stay down Jack. If you know what's good for you, I suggest you stay down, and don't get back up," stated Arcee while Jack looked like scrap, but still got up, and stared at her defiantly.

_**"If you're going to kill me Arcee, then blast me to pieces right now, and stop talking like you have the Spark to do it,"**_ said Jack before spitting out some blood.

"I will kill you Jack. I don't want to, but you are an enemy, and too dangerous to be taken prisoner. I won't let you capture or kill either Miko or Raf to further the Decepticon cause like you tried earlier. I won't let you kill any member of Team Prime," stated Arcee while Jack let out a small chuckle.

_**"You couldn't kill Airachnid. What makes me so different? Do you really expect me to tremble in fear of you? You, who let her partners die because she didn't have the Spark to save them when it counted? You, who would scold a child for his actions when you've done worse, and got off with a minor disapproving look from Optimus. You are no former partner of mine. You are hypocrite Arcee. You have the power to take my life, you had the power to take the life of Airachnid, and yet when it comes time to do it...you simply **__**choke**__**!"**_ stated Jack while looking right into Arcee's optics, his eyes now glowed a mix of reddish purple, and the femme Autobot looked furious at his hurt words.

"Why you little...," replied Arcee angrily before she was blinded by an smoke bomb Jack threw at her and the spread of the smoke blinded the femme Autobot along with yellow colored Scout.

_**"We'll fight again another day Arcee. I expect you to bring everything you have to it. If you don't...you'll die!" **_replied Jack before he took off down the tunnel and dodging the blasts aimed at him by the Autobots.

"He got away!" exclaimed Arcee angrily while Bumble Bee told her to calm down.

"It could be worse. The Cons could have gotten the relic," replied Miko optimistically.

_"Miko's right Arcee. We'll fight Jack another day,"_ said Bumble Bee while Arcee let out a sigh.

"You're right. Let's return to base with the relic," stated Arcee while the group headed out after Miko made a quick phone call to Agent Fowler to help them with the one human that helped them.

(New York City)

"I see him sir. The target has made it out of the subway tunnel area still currently under construction. He seems to be injured. Do you want us to take him now?" asked someone watching one Jack the Ripper from his key sniping position.

_"No! Its too narrow to shoot and hit with pinpoint accuracy from that distance. We need him to be out in the open. Make sure he is before taking your shot. If by some chance you fail, lure him further out in to the open where the other teams are in place to open fire, and take that brat down,"_ barked a hard as steel voice into the radio system.

"Yes sir. Understood General Ortega," replied the solider into his receiver.

"He's moving South. I can't get a fix on him. Team 2, do you have a clear shot?" asked another solider, the leader of Team 1 into his receiver.

_"This is Team 2. I've got him. Do I have authorization to shoot?"_ said the sniper of Team 2.

"If you have the shot, take it!" stated the leader of Team 1.

_"Roger that. Taking the shot,"_ the sniper of Team 2 before pulling the trigger.

And missed.

_"Shit! We missed! I repeat, we missed the shot. He's onto us!"_ stated the leader of Team 2.

"What? How did he dodge the bullet?" asked the leader of Team 1 while the others with him looked surprised.

_"I don't know! Shit he's moving fast. Oh crap! He's got his sword drawn!"_ exclaimed the sniper from Team 2 and soon gunfire was heard over the radio system with the screams soon following.

"Damn it! Team 3! Team 4! Move in! Shoot to kill! I repeat shoot to kill!" exclaimed the leader of Team 1 almost frantically into the radio receiver.

_"Shoot! Shoot! How are you missing him? Hurry he's coming this way. Oh God! No! No! NOOOOO!" _exclaimed the leader of Team 3 with Jack coming at him with his sword.

_"How is he doing this? The target has clearly injured from some kind of fight. What is he?" _asked the leader of Team 2 before screams again filled the receiver.

"General Ortega! The target is attacking our teams. He'll be on us at any moment. We need backup and lots of it!" exclaimed the leader of Team 1.

_"Backup is on the way along with some heavy artillery. ETA is 5 minutes," _replied the General into the soldier's radio receiver.

"We won't last that long. We need to-AAAAH!" cried out the squad leader before he was sliced in two by Jack.

_**"All your soldiers are dead. I know you're not with M.E.C.H. since I know what their uniforms look like,"**_ replied Jack into the radio and cursed how his communication system was damaged by one of Arcee's blasts.

By Unicron's blood he was beginning to hate that femme Autobot.

_"So the son of Janus Warrington graces me with his now inhuman voice. The aliens gave you quite the upgrade when making you their soldier. How does it feel knowing you're betraying your own species?"_ stated Ortega with Jack letting out a chuckle.

_**"I don't feel anything. Why should I? Someone once stated that those of the human race were just parasites. I'm beginning to believe his statement was correct. So tell me **__**parasite**__**...what is your name?"**_ stated Jack while hearing the growl emanating from the radio system.

_"My name is General Ortega. Leader of the Grim Reaper Unit. The same unit that has been assigned to your capture and your immediate execution for treason against the human race,"_ answered Ortega while Jack let out another chuckle.

_**"Well I hope you have plenty of these soldiers on hand to sacrifice General. Will all I have seen of your unit so far...I'm not impressed,"**_ stated Jack with Ortega's growl getting louder.

_"We'll see how confident you are in the next few minutes!"_ replied General Ortega before the radio went dead and Jack heard the sound of an attack chopper heading his way.

'Oh scrap!' thought Jack before running on the roof he was on with the attack chopper closing in fast.

"This is Eagle Claw-1, we have the target in sight. Do we have permission to engage?" asked the pilot of the attack chopper.

_"Eagle Claw-1, this is General Ortega. You have full authorization to engage the target with extreme prejudice. Put more hole in him then Swiss Cheese!"_ commanded Ortega to the pilot.

"Copy that General. We are engaging the target right now," replied the pilot, as he began shooting at Jack with Saber Rounds that destroyed chunks of the roof, walls, and just about everything else around Jack.

'Shit! This guy is packing some serious firepower,' thought Jack, as he ducked behind a roof wall, and watched round after round being fired was taking chunks off of everything they hit.

_**What will you do my Progeny? Are you going to run and hide? Unacceptable! You are going to fight and you are going to KILL! Bring chaos and destruction to your enemy before you. DO IT NOW!**_

Jack flinched at hearing Unicron's command and felt the Chaos Bringer's influence now spreading deeper into his body. He could see the ghostly image of Unicron in his head, the vapors around his form only making him more ominous, and his optics were radiating power the likes he had never seen before now. Falling to his knees, Jack ignoring the gun fire from the chopper, even when one blew a hole through the wall he was hiding behind that would have taken off his shoulder had his legs given out while holding his head in pain. He tried to fight off Unicron's influence, but the Bringer of Chaos would not be denied what he wanted, and what the evil entity wanted right now was for his "Progeny" to kill.

_**"Get out of my head!"**_ exclaimed Jack while crying out in pain.

_**You dare defy me as Megatron did? If you will not obey my command willingly, then I will have to do your job myself, and show these mortals what it means to cross me!**_

It was in that moment, Jackson Darby now known as Jack the Ripper, felt a pain like no other piercing through his brain, and let out an ear shattering scream that was echoing all throughout New York City. The fact people below him were already evacuating the area didn't stop the rest of the city from hearing it and shivering in fear over the source of that scream.

At this moment, people were watching the TV, gluing their eyes to the various screens they had, as news reporters were telling of a classified operation, and how the attack chopper was shooting at a dangerous terrorist. Various news teams were getting shots of the chopper shooting at a building, a figure hidden in shadow when suddenly a strange aura surrounded the figure, and in a flash had destroyed the chopper in a violent manner resulting in a massive explosion.

While this happened, the people watched while military personnel swarmed the roof this person was on, hearing muffled commands, seeing hand motions from them, and to their horror saw this strange..._monster_ attacking without mercy with his sword. Blood was seen being sprayed everywhere, the people screamed, yelped, and covered their eyes in horror at the sight of this _thing_ attacking every soldier that stood in its way. You could hear the sound of shooting, the gunfire echoing through the sky, yells from the soldiers to watch for crossfire, to move to a better firing spot, and to watch out for the sword that had taken the lives of so many of their comrades.

And while this was happening...various factions were watching the scene play out.

(Autobot Base)

"Is that...Jack?!" asked June, as she was watching the news with Janus at this breaking news report, and she had to nearly yell at Raf to look away from the TV.

Agent Fowler was busy directing Bulkhead on his mission for the relic to look, but the gasps, and the various cries of shock clearly told the former Ranger how things were not going well. He had received a call from General Bryce moments ago about this, how he was to come in, and explain things to all important parties of the U.S. Government on what he knew about this situation with Jack.

"No. Its not. Look at that energy surrounding his body. You don't have to be a genius to know its not natural, even with all his enhancements done by the Decepticons. I don't think they had a hand in this. Look at the eyes for the mask he's wearing. They're reddish purple. When I first met Jack, they were pure red, and full of anger aimed at me. Something has happened to him. Something truly...chaotic," answered Janus, as he had no other way to describe the situation with Jack, and could almost say for certain his son was possessed by some outside force.

"What is making him do this? And what is that strange aura around him?" asked June, as she saw from the news feed of how Jack was cutting through various soldiers, and then mocking the others while leaving those few alive to pursue.

"Something that's not natural. Not for him anyway," replied Janus with worry for his son and what he had become against his Will.

Something truly monstrous. Something twisted.

(_The Nemesis_)

"Unlike my other subordinates, Soundwave was _successful_ in his finding of the relic, and makes me question my decision on whether it was wise to team Jack with you Knock Out. Speaking of my Ripper...WHY IS HE NOT HERE WIT H YOU!" replied Megatron while glaring at the two other failures in the room before looking at Soundwave currently showing the news feed of Jack currently being pursued and shot at by human soldiers in his unnatural state.

And covered in the aura of dark energon.

"Lord Megatron, it wasn't my fault! Jack was nowhere near the fighting. The Autobots somehow got past him and there human allies help do _this _to me!" exclaimed Knock Out with Megatron glaring at him.

"And what is your excuse Dreadwing? Not only did I lose an incredibly powerful relic, but now it is in the hands of _Starscream_!" questioned Megatron with Dreadwing bowing his head.

"I have no excuse to give Lord Megatron. I failed you. It is unbefitting of myself as your second-in-command. I will do everything in my power to remove this shame of defeat from my being," stated Dreadwing with Megatron narrowing his optics at him.

"Good. It appears Jack's influence has been a positive one for you Dreadwing. But now we have the problem of retrieving the boy," declared Megatron while seeing the news feed on Soundwave's broken visor currently showing Jack being shot at by the human soldiers pursing him along with a new attack chopper.

"How do we rescue him Lord Megatron?" asked Dreadwing with Megatron looking right at him now.

"You will rescue him Dreadwing. Fly over the human city and assist him in his battle against the human's aerial vehicle. Soundwave, prepare a Ground Bridge for Jack the moment he's clear," order Megatron with Soundwave nodding.

"Not to question your wisdom Lord Megatron, but...why is Jack covered in what looks like a fire made from dark energon?" asked Knock Out with Megatron scowling while feeling the dark energon in him pulse now.

"I will know the answer to your question Knock Out _after_ Jack is brought before me to give such an answer," replied Megatron while seeing the news feed with interest.

(New York City)

'Give me back my body!' commanded Jack inside his head, but found himself powerless to fight back, and earned a chuckle from Unicron.

_**Foolish boy. You maybe worthy of being my Progeny, but you still have much to learn, and show respect to your betters!**_

'You're not my better and you're not my Father. So you can take that belief and shove it up your af-AHHHHH!" exclaimed Jack inside his mind.

_**Silence child. You will respect me and what I am. Now be silent while I deal with these parasites that believe themselves to be our superiors!**_

Jack could only watch from the inside of his mind, as Unicron used his body, and cut through every single foe that stood in his way. How was he going to explain this to Megatron? How would he tell his one true Lord and Master how the Chaos Bringer had the power to possess his body?

It was then the attack chopper stopped firing from its gun turret and fired missiles instead at the building he was on. The building collapse around Jack while Unicron took full advantage of his control over the boy's body and made it to the other building before he ran to the next one with the attack chopper firing at him without mercy.

The pilot of Eagle Claw-2 was so busy on firing at Jack, he failed to notice the massive fight plane flying towards him at incredible speed, and firing a single missile that blew the chopper up. Unfortunately for Jack, the assistance came too late, as the last missile from the attack chopper hit the ground a few feet from him, and sent the boy flying back while the rest of the building collapse.

Burying him alive.

"The target is down. Repeat the target is down and buried in the rubble!" exclaimed one of the soldiers of the Grim Reaper unit on the ground.

_"Secure the area. I want that boy brought to me alive!"_ commanded Ortega.

"We have an unknown hostile in the air. Requesting further air support," said the soldier.

_"The air support is on its way,"_ said Ortega.

(_The Nemesis_)

"NO! Dreadwing you arrive too late! Now those filthy humans are going to capture my Ripper!" exclaimed Megatron to his second-in-command while seeing the events unfold through Soundwave's visor.

"I'm moving around to launch another attack at the humans. I will give Jack enough time to escape," replied Dreadwing with Megatron slamming the terminal with his fist before calming down.

"No. Return to the Warship at once. The rescue mission is a failure. We cannot take the risk of you having to transform and expose yourself to the human populace," answered Megatron with many looking at the Warlord in shock.

"But Lord Megatron, how will Jack escape?" asked Dreadwing with Megatron being silent for a moment.

"Jack is a survivor Dreadwing. You know that. We must trust in Jack to make it back to us," replied Megatron while his voice had a hint of sadness to it.

"Understood Lord Megatron," answered Dreadwing while flying away.

(Autobot Base)

Bulkhead was down. Ratchet had brought him back, but the big guy was in need of some serious medical help from the Autobot Medic. While this happened, Arcee reported what happened on her mission to Optimus about retrieving the relic in New York, and the brief encounter with Jack. Optimus listened intently, but the news feed of what was happening in New York was distracting him, and it was when June Darby screamed in fright did his head turn fully in her direction.

"They brought a building down on him!" exclaimed June, as she gasped in the horror of the feed showing a replay of the building collapsing, and the clear image of her son being buried underneath the rubble.

"I just got a call from General Bryce. He wants me in New York immediately. I've been ordered to oversee Jack being pulled out of the rubble, followed by detainment if alive, and then escort him to an undisclosed base where he'll be put on trial for crimes against humanity," stated Fowler after closing his phone and letting out a sigh.

"Go Agent Fowler. We will stay here and out of sight. The last thing your government needs is us being caught by human eyes," stated Optimus while the others were shocked by this.

"Those men there belong to General Ortega. You really expect them to let this guy get near Jack? Ortega is probably heading there right now to take full command of the situation and there is no telling what he'll do when standing in front of my son," stated Janus with Optimus sighing.

"If even one of us goes to interfere on Jack's behalf, I believe it will only encourage the human government we reside in to question our loyalty, and distrust us further. For the time being, we must rely on Agent Fowler to protect Jack long enough for us to figure out how to extract him from General Ortega," answered Optimus with Janus not liking that and the others were unsure of that decision

"You'll have to understand if I'm not one hundred percent confident this agent of the U.S. Government can protect my son," answered Janus with a look of fury in his eyes.

(New York City)

Jack crawled through the rubble around him. Several pieces of metal rods in the building itself had pierced his body, damaging his various systems, and he was getting weaker by the second with the loss of blood. His mask was badly damaged, exposing what the flesh behind the metal mask that was the Decepticon symbol he had worn with pride, and was the proof to all that he was Megatron's loyal servant. He could hear voices outside of the building, as soldiers were digging through the rubble, looking for him, and hoping to bring their prey to General Ortega.

As for Unicron, he was staying remarkably silent at the moment, no doubt accomplishing his goal, and satisfying his desire for chaos. Whether or not it was also meant to hurt Jack and possibly kill him was unknown. All that mattered to Jack now was he survive long enough to escape, get back to Megatron, and get Knock Out to heal his broken body. If he didn't get treatment soon, Jack knew his body was going to be as useful as crushed up car after it went through a compactor, and became a cube that _might_ be one day used as a paperweight in an office.

Prying himself further from the rubble, Jack saw light from a nearby hole, and crawled out of it before looking around. His silent joy at being free from the rubble was replaced by a sense of defeat when soldiers surrounded him with their guns pointed at his face and ready to fire if he tried anything.

"General Ortega would like to speak with you _traitor_," stated one soldier glaring holes into Jack.

_**"I'm sure the General would. Tell him to comeback next week. I'm currently busy and have no time for him,"**_ Jack sarcastically replied.

"On your feet maggot!" said another soldier, as several picked up Jack, and after a long hard walk to a roof involving them dragging the boy there with a chopper landing there with General Ortega stepping out with a smug look on his face.

"So this is Janus's boy. I was expecting someone like you with Nanomachines in their blood to be a little more...mature. How disappointing," said General Ortega while he was smoking a cigar and looking at Jack's broken body.

_**"Well you're no prize yourself General so looks don't count for much,"**_ countered Jack before he was stuck with the butt of the assault rifle from one of the soldiers.

"Traitorous brat! Know your place," said one of the soldiers holding him.

_**"Piss off!"**_ countered Jack with his words rewarding his head with another strike.

"Enough! Jack Darby, I realize you are in a difficult situation here, but if you were to beg me for mercy, and tell us where the Decepticon Warship is located, I'm pretty sure the U.S. Government be willing overlook your actions in exchange for bigger fish," stated Ortega while Jack just looked him right in the eye.

_**"I have a better idea General. How about you go frack off and take your little band of warriors with you," **_answered Jack with a chuckle and enjoyed the sight of Ortega being angry.

"Filthy abomination!" exclaimed Janus before viciously backhanding the boy after taking his revolver to strike the boy hard with it with enough force to make Jack fall onto his back.

_**"You're one to talk. I know all about you Ortega. I accessed your military file after I learned of my Father's existence and cross referenced it with those in charge of the project he was working on. I wonder what would happen if the U.S. Government would think of you if they learned of what **__**you**__** wanted to do with those Nanomachines,"**_ stated Jack with a military boot from the General pressing on his chest and the revolver now aimed practically point blank at his face.

"Shut your mouth boy," commanded Ortega in a cold tone.

_**"Or what? You're going to shoot me? We both know you will. Besides, I think its funny how you want to use the Nanomachines in my body, and use them for your own selfish purposes. Some patriot. You're a hypocrite. You just want to live forever and be some kind of pretend God,"**_ replied Jack with a chuckle leaving his mouth.

_BANG!_

"Keep that up and I'll shoot you again," commanded Ortega, as he had fired into Jack, but aimed at the boy's chest, and saw him grip the roof tightly.

_**"Go ahead General. Do it. Pull the trigger! I'm not afraid of the other side. Not like you. You just want to cheat death like the cowardly little man you are,"**_ said Jack before hearing the clicking down from the General's revolver.

_BANG!_

"The next one goes right through your skull. Though if you denounce your alien leader, pledge your loyalty to the U.S. Government, and to myself...I will spare you the long awaited execution that will come after the military tribunal takes place," stated Ortega with his gun now aimed at Jack's head once more.

_**"Denounce Megatron? Why would I do that?"**_ questioned Jack with General Ortega scowling at him.

"He abandoned you boy. There is no help from your leader nor your former alien allies that are the Autobots. You think that Agent Fowler will save you? He may have orders to come supervise things, but a lot of time can pass between his departure from where he was called, and to here where you're at my mercy. Denounce your alien leader. Call out that he is an abomination, a threat, and that he will be destroyed by the very species he plans to conquer. Do all that...and you will live to see another sunrise," said Ortega with Jack letting out a chuckle that soon became full blown laughter.

_**"I have called him a few names. Lord and Master being chief among them. But I do know...what to call Megatron before my end. I call him...**__**Father**__!__**"**_ replied Jack while blood leaking out of his mouth with Ortega looking shocked and then absolutely infuriated by his words.

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

"Then your so called _Father_ will join soon..._traitor_," was Ortega's reply while seeing the boy's body jolt with each shot before going limp after the third one.

(_The Nemesis_)

No one moved on the Warship. No one dared say anything. Soundwave had recorded the entire conversation Jack had with General Ortega. Jack and Ortega's voices were being broadcasted throughout the entire ship so everyone on the _Nemesis_ could hear them talk. Dreadwing had just returned to the _Nemesis_, heard the two talking, and saw on main view screen of the human named Ortega shoot Jack three times in the face. Megatron's second-in-command bowed his head in mourning of the loss the Decepticons had just suffered in losing a loyal warrior and subordinate of Megatron.

Megatron himself watched in shock and horror at seeing Jack go limp after the third shot with his blood leaking out him. Jack's last words to General Ortega were repeating in his mind's processor and felt some form of ache in his Spark.

_I have called him a few names. Lord and Master being chief among them. But I do know...what to call Megatron before my end. I call him...Father!_

Jack had called him that name. In a way, it was true to some extent that the Jack that had joined their ranks was created by his hands, and by his own design. Did that make him so kind of sire? Megatron didn't know. What he did know was the boy had called him that name and it brought about great sorrow upon Jack's death.

And in that moment, Megatron felt a great deal of grief fill his Spark, and with that grief came rage that burned brightly. A rage he had not felt in years! Not since the time back on Cybertron when the Council had basically decided that Orion Pax would make a far better Prime then himself! His mind was now filled with agony at losing not only a great warrior in human skin, but this same warrior, who had exceeded all his expectations, and was becoming the human version of himself.

"What is your command Lord Megatron?" asked Dreadwing at last after what seemed like an appropriate moment of silence to honor their fallen comrade.

"Soundwave! Find everything you can about this human General. This _Ortega_! I want to know where his base of operations is located. I want to know how many troops he has under his command and further more...I want to know where they are going to transport Jack so we may take him back for a proper burial that he _rightfully_ deserves. One worthy of a true Decepticon!" commanded Megatron with fury in his voice.

This filthy human responsible for killing Jack would pay a heavy price for robbing him of such a competent warrior, a loyal subordinate, and on a deeper level...surrogate offspring!

(Autobot Base)

"Optimus? Are you all right?" asked Arcee while seeing the Prime stagger for a moment like he had been hit by something hard.

"I don't know Arcee. In a single moment...I felt my Spark suddenly ache with a great pain for a reason I do not truly understand," answered Optimus while feeling his Spark was in agony.

"What?" asked Arcee.

"I felt my Spark cry out in pain Arcee and I think I know the reason behind it," replied Optimus in a grave tone.

"What is it then?" asked Arcee while Optimus looked at the small TV where the feed from New York City was playing.

"I fear Jack Darby is no longer among the living," answered Optimus with Arcee and the others gasping while June fell to her knees crying.

"Optimus, you don't know that! No one does. Agent Fowler hasn't even gotten half way to the city yet," countered Ratchet with Optimus shaking his head.

"I do not need Agent Fowler to tell me what my Spark already knows Ratchet. When I gave Jack the Key to Vector Sigma, it downloaded an imprint of his bio signature, and connected us through the Matrix of Leadership itself. When Jack died...a piece of own Spark died with him," answered Optimus with his eyes closing and the crying from June increased.

"Airachnid's not going to like hearing that," remarked Wheeljack with Arcee growling at him.

"Who cares about Airachnid?! Who cares about Jack?! Jack became a Decepticon. He tried to kill us! I say good riddance!" stated Arcee before storming away from the others currently shocked by her outburst.

"Arcee doesn't mean that...does she?" asked Raf while Bumble Bee shrugged.

"No. She's grieving like the rest of us. I'm sure of it," answered Ratchet with Optimus not saying anything at the moment.

'Jack. I pray you find peace on the other side,' thought Optimus Prime, as he took this moment to mourn the loss of the boy, who had done so much for him, and the other Autobots when he could have easily stayed away.

Whether he served as an honorary Autobot or Decepticon...Jack Darby would be missed by all of them.

(With Arcee)

Arcee had destroyed her quarters in record time. She screamed out in rage and pain while cursing Primus for cursing her with such horrible luck with partners. It hurt to know she had lost Jack to Megatron when he was the Warlord's prisoner. It became worse knowing her hated enemy in the form of Airachnid was ripping him to pieces on Megatron's orders to get Jack to divulge their hidden base. How Megatron had turned Jack into his pawn, his puppet, and loyal follower that would kill for the Decepticon Leader without any hesitation. To know Jack had been intimate with Airachnid, she was going to have his Sparklings, and finally to top it all off...Jack was dead.

'No matter how much I want to hate him. No matter how much I want to curse you for your actions Jack...I just can't. I simply can't,' thought Arcee, as she fell to her knees, and cried while looking up at the ceiling of her room.

Deep down she wanted things to be different. She wanted Jack back being the way he use to be before becoming Megatron's subordinate. She wanted the Jack, who was cautious, be responsible, and just overall did everything he could to not make waves. Arcee missed Jack's smile, the occasional laugh, the wisecracks he shot with her, and his kindness that helped in healing the emotional wound she suffered from losing Cliffjumper.

Why did Primus have to be so cruel to her? Why did Primus have to take Jack from her like this? Why did Primus have to constantly have Arcee interact with those that could heal those emotional wounds around her before snuffing their life-force out to cause more emotional scars.

As these questions went through her mind, all Arcee could do was cry, and pray to Primus that Jack would forgive her for being so pigheaded.

(A/N: YAY! Another update. I saw Legacy and I didn't like how Arcee chewed Jack out over his actions. I can understand she's a bit upset, but Arcee has no room to talk given her own actions in connection to Airachnid, and even with Starscream. Not to mention that Jack rarely does anything irresponsible so it seems a tad...weird that Arcee scold him for being reckless when Miko does it all the time, yet gets little to no scolding, and even then the _one time_ she got the scolding, it was light due to the near death situation she went through with zombie Skyquake. How is what Jack went through any different? He nearly got mauled or captured by the Insecticons before Arcee rescued him so Jack's situation was pretty close to Miko's. Not only that, but Jack has been the responsible one for awhile, and I think he only went off the reservation in terms of responsibility because he was tired of constantly being responsible. He wanted to be a kid who enjoyed time with his friends and Arcee acts more like a Drill Instructor then a friend when it matters most. When its time for actions, Arcee is like "Time for duty Jack. Get off.", and then she goes off into battle. I mean...do they ever really laugh and enjoy their time together when not fighting the Decepticons? She's been bossing him around more lately and I think Arcee is jealous of how quickly Jack and Smokescreen were bonding so well. But that's just my opinion. Until next time...PEACE!)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9-Twisted Mind Set

Agent Fowler landed in New York City via military chopper. He didn't want his personal air fighter Ratchet had modified to be inspected by Ortega's men and possibly try to learn the advanced technological secrets it holds. Upon setting down, the former Ranger saw the damage done to the area, and silently cursed the General for making a mess while risking human civilians with the destruction he unleashed when his troops attacked Jack. As Fowler walked from the chopper to where General Ortega was standing on the roof the building, he noticed the row of body bags that were filled with the man's slain troops, and the one off to the side being guarded that was no doubt Jack's.

Fowler was surprised the General spared him a body bag.

"General Ortega," said Fowler in a curt yet firm tone.

"Agent Fowler," replied Ortega in turn with a much colder tone.

"How did Jack Darby die?" asked Fowler to Ortega while the General turned his head to glare at the Special Agent with his cigar in his mouth puffing out smoke.

"The _traitor_ resisted. I shot him. End of story," replied Ortega with Fowler frowning while hearing this and not really surprised the General did that.

"How many times did you shoot him?" asked Fowler with the General just looking at him for a moment before turning away.

"Two shots to the body and three in the head," answered Ortega with Fowler now looking shocked.

"He was captured. You had no right to kill him!" exclaimed Fowler with Ortega letting out a grunt from his throat like the agent's words had some amusement to him.

"So you say. But considering how many men I've lost, plus the interference from the alien disguised as a military aircraft that shot down one of my choppers, I think we're pretty much even now, and I think the other Generals would agree," replied Ortega with Fowler not looking a tad bit convinced.

"Don't hand me that garbage! You know perfectly well Jack could have been contained in his weakened condition long enough to reverse what was done to him and get some major Intel on the Decepticons. You killed him because of his Father and out of spite for the hit your ego took years ago!" countered Fowler with the General snarling with the cigar in his mouth.

"Watch it Fowler. I outrank you. Talk to me like that again and I'll see to it that you stop being the ambassador for the other aliens we've decided to let live here on our planet," Ortega shot back with growl coming from his throat.

"Go ahead. The Autobots trust me. You remove me from my post, they are _never_ going to trust the new guy that comes into that base to get information about the activities of the Decepticons," challenged Fowler before he walked past the General to Jack body.

"And what do you think you're doing?" asked Ortega while his men guarding Jack had their weapons at the ready.

"Confirming Jack is really dead and in that body bag. As stated by the Brass that we both answer to in Washington," answered Fowler before making his way over to the body bag and unzipped it.

And found Jack's bloodied dead body.

"Died a traitors death if you ask me," stated one of the soldiers with the other chuckling at his words.

"No one asked you solider. Now shut it!" commanded Fowler before turning to Jack, his eyes filled with sadness, and zipped up the bag.

How was he going to explain this to Team Prime?

(Autobot Base)

"Prime! I've arrived at New York City," stated Fowler after he was out of earshot from General Ortega so he could contact the Autobots.

"And Jack? What is his current condition?" asked Optimus with everyone at the base now holding their breath when Fowler didn't give an immediate response.

"He's dead Prime. Ortega personally shot him after his men found him crawling out of the rubble. Two rounds to the torso and three to the head. Execution style," answered Fowler sadly and cringed when he heard the sound of June crying in the background on his end.

"I thought the orders were to contain Jack if captured?" asked Arcee in a demanding tone while trying to contain the rage and sorrow she felt at this moment.

"They were the standing orders, but the not so good General felt it was best to shoot Jack first, and ask questions later. No doubt he's going to want Jack's body dissected and get his answers that way. I've secretly put a tracer on the body bag holding Jack so you can follow it while its on route to the nearest military base. I'll be along for the ride too so there won't be any funny business on the General's end in case he wants to pull the old 'switch the body bags' game on me," answered Fowler with Optimus nodding.

"Understood. When Jack's body reaches its destination, we will Ground Bridge into the facility, and retrieve him from the General," replied Optimus knowing that would be the best time to strike.

"Agreed. Just make sure you get the boy out of there quickly Prime. I have a very strong feeling Ortega's men will shoot at you regardless if you're an ally. Just get Jack and go. I'll run interference on my end when Ortega goes before the Brass to throw a fit and use his own actions against him when the time comes," said Fowler while hoping things did not spiral out of control from this.

"We'll be waiting," answered Optimus before ending the connection.

"Jack's gone. I can't believe he's actually gone," said Arcee with the realization of it all hitting her like a fist to the face.

"Its bad enough Bulkhead is in recovery, but now Jack is dead, and there is no telling how Megatron will react to this," explained Ratchet while everyone looked at him and then at the Prime.

"I fear that Megatron's rage over losing Jack will only be matched by his wrath upon the one responsible for the boy's death. All the more reason to monitor Jack's transport and its current destination should Megatron wish to do something violent," answered Optimus with his tone being grave.

(_The Nemesis_)

_I've secretly put a tracer on the body bag holding Jack so you can follow it while its on route to the nearest military base. I'll be along for the ride too so there won't be any funny business on the General's end in case he wants to pull the old 'switch the body bags' game on me._

"Soundwave, find the frequency for the tracer the human put on Jack's person. We'll use it to find his body and attack the convoy," ordered Megatron while Soundwave nodded and soon had it showing on his visor.

"Lord Megatron, I humbly request to lead the attack on the convoy, and securing Ripper's body from those vile humans," said Dreadwing while Megatron snarling in anger.

"No! This is a mission I will handle myself. Stay on my ship and handle anything that arises unless I call for you," ordered Megatron with Dreadwing bowing before him.

"As you wish Lord Megatron," said Dreadwing while seeing the Lord of all Decepticons clenching and unclenching his hands.

"Its strange in a way that I should possess these feelings about Jack. When he was first brought onto my ship, I did everything in my power to break him, and reveal all of his secrets regarding the Autobots to me. Instead, he fought back, refused to reveal a hint of where the Autobot base might be located, or even the location of Vector Sigma. When he came into my ranks, I saw a weapon, and tool to use against Optimus to win the war. In the short time Jack has been on my ship, he has show is value exceeded anything I could have imagined, and I wish to see him reach his maximum potential. The boy was a Prime in the making with the Autobots and Decepticon warrior under my command who was cut off before his time. When he called me Father, I was proud of the fact I was given such a title for it meant Jack was _MY _creation, and I was proud in knowing I had created a warrior of incredible skill worthy of wearing the Decepticon symbol," stated Megatron while Dreadwing nodded in understanding.

"He was inspirational Lord Megatron. He knew his place and helped those around him reach their potential by guiding them where it mattered," said Dreadwing while recalling how Jack supported him in being Megatron's second-in-command.

"Yes. It was one of the reasons I tolerated his interaction with Airachnid before her own departure from my ranks. His knowledge of the world, its various terrains, and insight into things that would be overlooked was something I consider to be invaluable to us," said Megatron with his Spark pulsing now with the dark energon in it reacting too.

"We will have our revenge Lord Megatron. These human will no what it mean the cross us and pay a heavy price with their lives!" exclaimed Dreadwing passionately with the Decepticon Warlord nodding in agreement.

"I know they will Dreadwing. Which is why we are going to attack the convoy the very moment they are not in a heavily populated area filled with humans. I want to unleash all my fury on this Ortega and his troops," stated Megatron while feeling his rage growing with each passing second.

_Ping!_

Megatron looked over at Soundwave, seeing the silent Decepticon showing him their target was on the move, and would soon be out of the populated city with Jack's body very soon. The _Nemesis_ was actually moving into position to where the convoy would soon be heading and would soon launch their attack on the unsuspecting humans below.

"We are nearly in position. All hands! Prepare to begin the attack. Destroy the convoy and the humans in it. Our main objective is the retrieval of Ripper's body! Anyone who foolish enough to damage him during the battle will answer to me and I will personally rip out the Spark of the those responsible!" commanded Megatron with Decepticons mobilizing for battle.

(With the Military Convoy)

Military trucks, jeeps, and attack choppers were swarming over the main vehicle that was currently transporting the body of one Jackson Darby. Agent Fowler had watched the boy be put into the vehicle with sharp eyes, as it was Ortega's men carrying the body bag into the transport, and nearly rushed to help put him in when they deliberately (he thought so anyway) smacked the boy's head (if the metal sound was any indication) against vehicle before loading him into it.

'Those morons are doing more harm then good,' thought Fowler while he watched things from his position in the military chopper and hearing everything the soldiers watching Jack were talking on an open frequency.

_"Hey Mike! What do you think the General is going to do with the traitor?" _asked one soldier to another, who apparently was named Mike.

_"Hell if I know Tom. If I were to guess, I'd say General Ortega is going to cut him open, and see what makes this bastard tick. Though knowing the General, the cutting process will be with the finesse of a drunken butcher,"_ said Mike with a chuckle and Tom doing the same.

_"Yeah, but that's the General style. None of that 'do things with precision' crap. Just go in, dig, cut, rip, and tear through everything until you get what you want. The General is going to have a field day with this abomination,"_ said Tom before the sound of one of them kicking Jack's body back was heard.

'Bastards!' thought Fowler knowing he was unable to do anything with the guards since it was his word against those two.

His thoughts on the matter were ended when he saw Vehicons flying his way, being led by Megatron, and firing on the convoy below. Fowler's chopper was picking up the rear and the pilot had been fast enough to move away from the convoy before it was hit. The two other attack choppers in the convoy were gone, two out of the three truck transports were blow up, and two out of the three jeeps met the same fate. General Ortega was in one of the third jeep and those of his troops remaining were mobilizing to defend their current position from the Decepticons.

Not that it would do any good in Fowler's opinion, as the Decepticons had Ortega's men outgunned, outmanned, and basically outclassed. Fowler ordered the pilot to pull away from the attack while he called Prime for backup and explained to him about the Cons attacking the convoy.

"Decepticons! Show no mercy! Kill every single human here!" commanded Megatron in furious tone from the sky, as he bombarded to humans soldiers from the sky, Insecticons transformed from their insect like forms to their bipedal mode, and began to slaughter every human in sight.

"Damn you aliens! Die already!" exclaimed General Ortega, as he fired his bullets at the Decepticons, only to find them ineffective, and made himself stand out for Megatron to pinpoint.

Transforming into his ever intimidating bipedal form, Megatron towered over the human below him, and grabbed Ortega in his merciless grip. Bringing the human to his eye level, the Decepticon Warlord gave the aged man a once over with his optics, narrowing them at the sight of this pathetic organic responsible for robbing him of a competent, and loyal warrior so devoted to Megatron that the boy called him Father in his last few seconds of living.

The very idea of this human being the source of the boy's death made Megatron's Spark pulse with fury and would have crushed the human in his iron grip had a Ground Bridge opened up with Optimus Prime with his team of Autobots attacking his forces. Snarling in rage, Megatron threw Ortega away knowing the human wouldn't get far, and would remove the fool from this world eventually.

"Stand down Megatron. I will not tell you a second time," stated Optimus, as he raised his arm cannon at Megatron, and the Decepticon snarled in rage.

"Back off Optimus! This does not concern you or the Autobots. Leave now and I won't retaliate for your interference," demanded Megatron while Optimus narrowed his optics.

"It concerns us because it involves Jack's body. We will not allow you to take him back to your Warship," stated Optimus with Megatron's optics now glowing with red hot rage at his declaration.

"You _dare_ to take what is mine Optimus?!" accused Megatron before firing at his old enemy.

"Jack was never yours Megatron. You took him, you changed him, and you twisted him into a monster," countered Optimus while shooting back at Megatron before the two ran at each other with their weapons shifting from blasters to blades.

"I didn't take him Prime. I _found him_! He was left for dead near my Space Bridge by you and your Autobot subordinates. Had I not taken him back to my Warship, the boy would have died, and his potential would never have been realized!" Megatron stated, as the two clashed with their blades, glaring daggers from their optics at the other, and tried to push against the opposition.

"It would have been an honorable death worthy of any Prime and one Jack would have preferred to your cruel enslavement!" exclaimed Optimus with Megatron surprisingly laughing at his words.

"How wrong you are Optimus. Do you know what Jack's final words were to that human responsible for his death? I do. Soundwave broadcasted the event through my entire ship and recorded in that moment. This human General demanded Jack publicly denounce the Decepticon cause and myself while swearing loyalty to him. Do you know what Jack's answer was Optimus? I'll tell you. Jack not only proved his loyalty by refusing to obey, _but_ Jack in an act of defiance called me..._Father_!" declared Megatron while Optimus's optics widened and narrowed dangerously at him.

"You lie! Jack would never call you by such a title!" exclaimed Optimus with Megatron grinning an evil grin.

"And how do you know that Optimus? Perhaps you are feeling a tad jealous over the fact the boy you favored to be a human Prime has become just like me? That he has embraced the Decepticon cause like he was always one of us? If you don't believe me Optimus, I can have Soundwave send you the recording of that moment to further prove my claim, and my _right _to Jack's body!" countered Megatron with the two still fighting viciously for the right to bring Jack's dead form to their camp.

"Bee, cover me! I'm going for Jack's body!" exclaimed Arcee while she was running to the undamaged vehicle before six Vehicons blocked her path.

"Don't let her near Lieutenant Ripper's body!" called out one Vehicon while the drone along with the others opened fire at Arcee.

"His name is Jack Darby and he's my _partner_!" exclaimed Arcee, as she cut through the six Vehicons, and reached the truck when it _exploded_ with enough force to send Arcee flying back.

"NO!" yelled Megatron and Optimus surprisingly at the same time.

"JACK!" yelled Arcee while seeing the fire and destruction before her knowing that Jack's body at the center of the explosion.

"Foolish aliens! Did you really think I wouldn't arm the truck to explode in the event of someone trying to steal the traitors body?!" questioned Ortega with his hand holding the detonator while smiling at his victory over the robotic aliens around him.

Megatron with this sudden jolt of renewed rage, punched Optimus several times in the face before the third hit knocked the Prime onto the ground completely stunned. But rather then go for the kill in ending the Prime's life, Megatron focused on General Ortega, and grabbed the man currently not expecting the robotic aliens in front of him to recover so fast. In fact, General Ortega was planning on seeing the robotic aliens fall to their knees in despair at the sight of the boy they were fighting for was practically destroyed with his body now becoming a few hundred pieces of scorched nothingness.

"You are the foolish one now human. This world will _burn_! This world will _suffer_! Your very_ species_ will suffer! And when asked why...I will tell all of them why. It is because you killed my Ripper and blew up his body like a coward!" exclaimed Megatron before he crushed Ortega within his grip with a loud "squelching"sound being made from the act.

With his revenge on the human complete, Megatron threw the mangled body away from his claws hands, and focused on Optimus. The two stared at each other, neither knowing what to do since their purpose for being here was gone, destroyed by another, and they no longer had a reason to fight each other in this very spot.

That is until a pulse of purple colored energy flew out in a dome like shape, which hit everyone still standing, and everyone now turned to the source of it. The source of it being a human size figure among the fires of the battle waged around them, covered in the darkness, yet had a purple fire around the body, the eyes glowed purple, and the sword in the right hand made everyone know this person's identity.

"Jack!" exclaimed Megatron while feeling his own dark energon igniting instantly within his body to connect with the boy.

Only to be rejected and as Jack stepped out of the flames did Megatron know why.

_**"Traitorous worm! You dare think to command my life-force as you see fit and then turn it against me out of spite when rejected as my herald? I should have killed you the moment I looked down upon your form when first seeing you!" **_bellowed the voice that was not Jack's that made everyone take several steps back.

"Unicron," whispered Optimus with the Unicron possessed body of Jack Darby looking right at him.

_**"Correct follower of Primus. Do not think I have forgotten about you or what you did to weaken me. I have seen this boy's memories and I will not have my Progeny suffer from being manipulated by either of your factions!"**_ stated Unicron with Optimus and Megatron shifting into battle stances.

"Release Jack at once Unicron! He does not deserve enslavement and least of all from you!" commanded Optimus with Unicron laughing from the boy's mouth, which was seeable from the broken mask, and how Jack's body was showing the various parts of his body empowered by dark energon.

_**"Now why would I wish to do that follower of Primus? This boy is my weapon against you. Your weakness. You would not dare strike down this child knowing full well what he means to you. I can see it in your optics. In both of your optics actually. This child has saved you and your subordinates on multiple occasions with his actions. Even Megatron has been spared death by Jack's hands, which later resulted in my own defeat soon after when I awoke from slumber by guiding you to my Spark, and putting me back into stasis. It was through this very boy that you were able to regain your lost memories and once again become a Prime. It is through my Progeny that Megatron has been so successful against you and has tipped the balance of power in his favor. This boy will become a true instrument of chaos and I will not allow anyone to use him but me!"**_ challenged Unicron before channeling dark energon into the sword and making it become covered in the chaotic flame that covered Jack's body.

"So be it," stated Optimus gravely with his blade drawn and marched toward Jack much to Megatron, his forces, and the rest of Team Prime's surprise.

"Optimus?" questioned Arcee with Optimus looking at the possessed boy's eyes.

"Jack is has been enslaved to Unicron's Will now Arcee. If we do not end Jack's life, he will never be free, and Unicron will not hesitate to kill others through him. If we are to spare Jack and this world the horror that is to come from this...I must strike his body down. In doing so, it will not only free Jack from Unicron's hold, but also put the Bringer of Chaos back into stasis once more, and hopefully this time...he will stay in stasis until the next planetary alignment," answered Optimus with Unicron frowning using Jack's face to show his displeasure before letting out a chuckle.

_**"So you figured it out follower of Primus. No matter. The boy is mine for all time. My Progeny above all others. The only one worthy among this parasitic species that dares live on this world that is my body. It is through him you will die Optimus Prime and once I finished snuffing out your Spark I will make sure to redirect **__**ALL**__** my intentions toward the fool who dares to wield my life-force like it was his own to wield!"**_ stated Unicron with Megatron snarling at him.

"You really think I will stand by and let you get away with this? Jack decreed me to be his Father. I am the one he calls his sire! Not you! I will not have that boy be used by anyone except myself! If I can't have him fighting under the banner of the Decepticons, then no one can have him. Least of all _YOU_!" exclaimed Megatron with his blade drawn and charged forward.

Only to stop and drop to his knees before grabbing his chest where the dark energon was in his veins while Jack's possessed left hand was outstretched.

_**"Prideful fool! All this time spent trying to learn how to harness my life-force and you still have learned the most obvious truth. I command all who have my life-force in their veins. Whether it be you or this boy. I am your Master just as you were once with my Progeny. So long as you have dark energon in your veins so will I command you to do what I wish and right now I wish for you to **__**bow**__** before me!"**_ commanded Unicron before making a quick motion with his outstretched left hand and made Megatron's body obey his Will despite the Decepticon Warlord resisting him the entire time.

"No! I won't! I did not submit to you when I stood before your very Spark and I will not do it now! I am Megatron, Leader of the Decepticons! And as their leader I bow to NO ONE!" exclaimed Megatron before trying to stand back up and surprisingly was hit by a strong blast of dark energon from Jack's body that sent the Warlord flying back.

_**"Now that the worm has been removed from my sight, I will now deal with you, and your subordinates follower of Primus!"**_ stated Unicron with Optimus narrowing his optics and looking at him cautiously.

"We defeated you before Unicron. We can do it again!" challenged Optimus while the Bringer of Chaos laughed once more within Jack's body.

_**"We shall see Optimus Prime. We shall see if you or your subordinates will have the courage to kill the boy they have come to care for when he was once serving under your banner,"**_ Unicron shot back before charging at Optimus and soon he along with the others of Team Prime were fighting the possessed boy.

Only to find their large sizes and various weapons were at a disadvantage when trying to hit such a small and nimble body.

Wheeljack tried using his swords, but found that Unicron could dodge, and move faster then any normal human. One moment, Unicron was in front of him, the next he was near Arcee while dodging her arm blasters, and laughing the entire time. Wheeljack tried to slice through him with his swords again, but Unicron was just too fast, and too agile to be hit by such a massive weapons. Bumblebee tried to hit him with several blasts from his own blasters, but even with the Scouts speed, and firing being arguably the fastest of them all they just weren't hitting their target.

_**"Foolish Autobot. I will enjoy killing that human boy you cherish so much when I am through with you. I will make the one called Rafael cry out for you to save him right before I take this sword and stab the human right through the heart," **_replied Unicron with an evil laugh that infuriated him to no end.

_"I'll never let you touch him!"_ exclaimed Bumble Bee while sending chunks of debris at the boy's body with his blaster fire in the hopes it would blind Unicron long enough for the others to land a hit.

"I got him!" Wheeljack cried out from above while Unicron shield his eyes from the dirt as best he could before looking up to see the blade coming down on him.

_**"Fools! All of you! You dare try to challenge the power of chaos?!" **_bellowed Unicron before he flashed with a purple light and moments later Jack's body was gone from where Wheeljack's blade had cut into the ground.

"Where did he go?" asked Wheeljack before hearing the cry of pain from Optimus, as the Prime was struck in the chest by the sword covered with dark energon with the weapon's wielder holding onto it while the Autobot Leader fell to the ground.

_**"Now follower of Primus, I will now send you to my brother, and end the legacy of the Primes for all time!"**_ exclaimed Unicron, as he used the incredible strength the boy had possessed through his enhancements, which the Bringer of Chaos amplified several times after that, and opened Optimus Prime's chest plate to strike at the Spark of his enemy.

"NOOOO!" yelled Arcee, as she saw Unicron raise the sword up into the air, with the tip pointing down to pierce the Autobot Leader's Spark, and assure victory in the name of chaos.

"Jack. I know you are in there my human friend. Fight him," whispered Optimus to the possessed boy and Unicron laughed further at the Prime's attempts to reach Jack.

_**"The boy cannot hear you Optimus Prime. There is only one person in command of this body and it shall remain being me until the boy finally accepts his position as my Progeny. Farewell follower of Primus,"**_ answered Unicron before bringing the sword down on Optimus's Spark Chamber, ignoring the pleas of the Autobots, the horror in their optics, and even those of the Decepticons watching what was about to unfold before them in this very moment that seemed to be going in slow motion.

With the tip of the sword coming to a stop within inches of its intended target, the wielder of the weapon now shaking, the ethereal flame of dark energon that covered Jack's body was in flux, the boy's scarred, and slightly hidden face showing frustration. The possessor fighting against the possessed, a conflict of two Wills fighting inside one body, and trying to be the one in control. The unholy scream coming from the two echoing throughout the sky, scaring Autobot, Decepticon, and Insecticon alike at what they are hearing.

_**"Get out of my body!"**_ exclaimed Jack with everyone still looking on in surprise.

_**"Insolent child! You dare defy your true sire! It is through my very life-force that you continue to exist. It is through my blood that now runs through your very veins that you were able to heal from those three shots to your skull that pierced deep into your brain. Through my possession of your body were you spared being blown to pieces by the fool's attempt to remove your existence from my world. Without me you would be **__**dead**__**!" **_shouted Unicron while trying to push the sword down again to kill the last of the Primes.

_**"I'd rather be dead then serve you. You're no sire of mine!"**_ challenged Jack while the growling sound of Unicron was heard by all.

_**"You desire to be dead then serve me? The Bringer of Chaos?! Fine! Then I will grant your wish!"**_ bellowed Unicron before manipulating his own control over the sword and forced Jack in a surprise move to stab inward towards himself.

And stabbing himself right through the torso in the process.

"JACK!" yelled Arcee, as she rushed over to Jack, who fell off of Optimus, the shock of what had just happened being seen clearly on his face, and his breathing now becoming shallow.

"Ratchet! Get us an Emergency Ground Bridge now!" commanded Optimus with the Ground Bridge opening up for them.

"NO! STOP THEM!" commanded Megatron while firing at Team Prime making their way into the Ground Bridge.

Only to fire at nothing and infuriate the Decepticon Warlord further.

(Autobot Base)

"By the All Spark Optimus what in the name of Primus happened?" asked Ratchet with Optimus looking at him while he carried Jack in his hand to the medical area setup for the Autobots and humans to put the boy down in one.

"Unicron the Chaos Bringer possessed Jack. How that happened is still uncertain, but the two fought each other for the right to command his body. Unicron then released his hold after forcing the sword into Jack's torso when Jack refused to submit to his Will. Hence why Jack is in this current condition," answered Optimus while looking over the severely injured boy on the human medical bed with June rushing to her son.

"Jack!" exclaimed June, but Janus grabbed her, and held the woman back.

"You can't help him June. I know you want to, but you can't!" countered Janus, as they both saw their son, bleeding heavily, sword through his stomach, and fighting to live.

"June, I suggest you get the Miko, and Raf out of here. This is no place for them at the moment," replied Optimus with June looking up to see Miko and Raf looking down at the sight of Jack in his current condition.

"Both of you get out of sight right now!" commanded June, as she wasn't about to have the two children be scarred for life by this, and instantly made her way to them while Janus was behind the woman to ensure she didn't come back just yet.

"Can you remove the sword Ratchet?" asked Optimus while seeing Jack still in shock from having his sword go right through his body.

It was clear his internal war with Unicron and this physical pain had drained the boy more then they first thought. The boy clearly wanted to scream out in pain, but his mind was so overly taxed that it just wasn't possible, and deep down Optimus felt it was for the best given Jack's condition.

"Removing the sword is not the hard part Optimus. Its closing the injury and making sure Jack survives is the trick here," stated Ratchet while running a scan over Jack's body and getting a readout of all the alterations made to his form.

"What about all these modifications the Cons did to him?" asked Wheeljack while being a bit impressed with how the boy moved in battle even if he was possessed by Unicron.

The fact Unicron had them all beat while inside Jack's body just proved that the Bringer of Chaos wasn't a pushover no matter what level of power he currently possessed.

"All done long after Megatron tried to torture Jack no doubt for information about our bases hidden location. The scars on his body are signs of Airachnid ripping in his body, some energon prod work I can only speculate was done by Megatron himself, and then there is this strange mark on the back of Jack's head I noticed when Optimus first brought him in. Each enhancement was designed to augment Jack's body to its maximum physical potential. Its clear that Megatron wished to turn Jack into a valuable weapon against us when his attempts at getting any information out of him ran its course," explained Ratchet while Jack groaned in pain and it was clear his mind was currently in a form of stasis lock to the Autobot Medic.

Though he didn't know human _had _their own version of stasis lock.

"Can you heal him? Take the enhancements out?" asked Arcee with Ratchet shaking his head no.

"I can heal his current injuries with the sword, maybe patch up some of the scars, but the enhancements can't be removed. Some of them have been made recently and all of them are designed to cause Jack incredible pain if any of them were removed in _any_ manner. Surgical or otherwise. No doubt to deter us from any attempt to changing Jack into the boy we all knew. What's most troubling to my optics is this strange wound on the back of Jack's skull that looks familiar, but for the life of me Optimus I don't...by the All Spark!" exclaimed Ratchet while looking at the back of Jack's head with his optics zooming in on the markings there.

"What? What is it?" asked Arcee while Ratchet had a look of horror on his face.

"Megatron. He...He performed a cortical psychic patch on Jack," stated Ratchet with the others looking horrified at hearing this information.

"What?!" demanded Arcee she looked from Ratchet to Jack and then back at the Autobot Medic.

"How could I have been so blind to not see it the moment my optics saw the markings on the back of his head?! Megatron clearly couldn't get Jack to talk using physical force so he used a cortical psychic patch on him to access his memories!" exclaimed Ratchet with everyone focusing on him now in shock.

"But that would kill a human, right? Their brains aren't like ours. Aren't they kind of well..._squishy_?" asked Wheeljack with Arcee glaring at him.

"And it wasn't done just one time either from what I saw. It was done..._twice_!" stated Ratchet with Team Prime looking at him in horror.

"Why would the Decepticons want to do that to him a second time?" asked Arcee while she looked away from Jack and was shocked at what her optics saw next.

"I can answer that Arcee," stated Airachnid while her body had become somewhat altered along the waist line showing that she was indeed pregnant.

"How in the name of Primus did you get out of your room?" demanded Arcee with her arm blaster at the Spider Bot.

"What can I say Arcee? Restraints and bombs can't hold me back. Not when it comes to seeing the Father of my Sparklings," answered Airachnid smugly before it left when she saw the state Jack was in.

"Well get a good look at him because he nearly died once and now he is severely injured from opposing the spirit of Unicron that possessed his body!" stated Arcee while pointing to Jack's body and missing his hand rising to grip the hilt of the blade.

"What? How?" asked Airachnid while moving closer to Jack, but was stopped by Arcee, and it was clear the Autobot femme wasn't going to let her near him.

"You first! Tell us what you did to Jack? Tell us why Megatron ordered a cortical psychic patch be done to Jack _twice_?!" demanded Arcee while Airachnid looked from her to Jack before her optics widened in surprise.

"Jack stop!" exclaimed Airachnid before all optics turned to see awake and pulling the sword slowly out of his torso.

"Don't pull that out! Its the only thing keep you from dying from blood loss," called out Ratchet, but his words were ignored, and Jack struggled to pull the blade out of his body.

_**"Well its not helping me while its stuck inside my body! And since all of you simply won't remove it from my body...I WILL!"**_ exclaimed Jack before letting out a pain filled screamed until it came out with a sickening down with the weapon falling from his hands moments later.

"Damn it Jack! Now I have to prep you for immediate surgery. Bumble Bee, get me Mrs. Darby now. I'll need her expertise on the human organs to know what's damaged," stated Ratchet while Optimus gently picked up the sword Megatron had commissioned for Jack to wield in the name of the Decepticons.

_**"Considering how much it hurt having the damn thing in me...it was totally worth it,"**_ mumbled Jack with a smile on his somewhat hidden masked face before he fell into the realm of unconsciousness.

"Jack!" exclaimed Arcee seeing him suddenly go limp.

"He's simply unconscious Arcee. I need to do surgery on him now. The Nanomachines in his body can only do so much," explained Ratchet with June soon coming into the room, gasping at the sight of Airachnid out of her room before refocusing on Jack, and quickly moved to her estranged son to get him ready for the surgery.

"You better save him Autobot. I want my Jack to live to see his Sparklings come into the world," said Airachnid while Arcee returned to glare at her.

"Talk Airachnid. _Now_! Why was the cortical psychic patch used on Jack twice? The first time should have killed him!" exclaimed Arcee with June gasping at this news and saw Airachnid look surprsingly sad for a moment.

"It wasn't my doing or decision if that's what you think Arcee. My attempts to make Jack talk ended in failure. And believe me I did everything in my power to make him break and give Megatron the information his Spark desired. Not just the location of your base, but the location of Vector Sigma itself on Cybertron. When that failed, Megatron ordered Soundwave to work with Knock Out, and Breakdown to study the human body with the brain being the primary focus to effectively use a cortical psychic patch on Jack without killing him. With the patch in place, Megatron had Soundwave download all of my Jack's memories into the databanks of the _Nemesis_, and would look at his memories that way," answered Airachnid while Optimus narrowed his optics at her.

"Judging by the fact we were not attacked here, it stands to reason Megatron failed to get the location of our base, and the location of Vector Sigma," stated Optimus with the Spider Bot nodded.

"Yes. My Jack's Nanomachines were able to fight it. You should have heard him scream when Soundwave did it. The sound of his voice was truly something to hear," replied Airachnid blissfully like she was recalling the memory of hearing a musical symphony.

"You fracking bitch!" exclaimed Arcee, as she moved to slice Airachnid's head off, but was stopped by Bumble Bee, and could only glare at the Spider Bot.

"And the second time?" questioned Optimus with Airachnid snarling in disgust.

"Megatron ordered a program be downloaded into my Jack's mind by Soundwave to help make him loyal to him and the Decepticon cause. So long as the program didn't hurt him, the program wasn't repelled by the Nanomachines, and even then Megatron didn't get what he wanted out of my Jack," answered Airachnid with a sense of glee knowing her Jack was able to stick it to that pompous Megatron.

"I knew it! There is no way Jack would willingly serve the Decepticons or Megatron!" exclaimed Arcee happily with relief knowing Jack wasn't a willing traitor to them.

_"Yeah! Wait until Raf and Miko hear about this!"_ added Bumble Bee, but saw the look on Optimus Prime's face, and it was clear that he was troubled by something.

"Is something wrong Optimus? I thought you out of all of us would be happy to hear this news," said Wheeljack with Optimus sighing.

"I am happy to hear such news Wheeljack. My Spark is pulsing with joy knowing that Jackson's change in allegiance was not one of his own choice. However, it was during my fight with Megatron my old enemy said something to me that has my mind filled with concern regarding how strong the program has become since its implantation," answered Optimus with the others looking at him in worry.

"What did Megatron say that has you so concerned?" asked Arcee with Optimus not sure if he should divulge the information and looked over at Ratchet working with June to help save her only son.

"When I fought Megatron, he fought with a fury, and a purpose I have not fought since the beginning of the war for Cybertron. It was when Megatron told me of his reasons for retrieving Jack did my Spark fill with a rage of its own and wished to deny the horrible truth," stated Optimus with the others looking at him curiously.

_"What did Megatron say?"_ asked Bumble Bee seeing the Optimus look hesitant to answer the question.

"Before General Ortega killed Jack, our lost tormented friend was apparently given an opportunity to denounce Megatron, and the Decepticons in exchange for swearing it to the now late General himself. Jackson refused to do so and with his last few words called Megatron...his Father," stated Optimus with the others, even Airachnid looking at him in shock, and it was clear no one wanted to believe it was true.

"Its a lie! All of it! Jack would never call him that!" exclaimed Arcee defiantly.

"As much as I hate to admit this, I'm agreeing with Arcee on this one. I highly doubt my Jack would make such a declaration," stated Airachnid while Arcee was torn between glaring at Optimus and her sworn arch nemesis.

"Megatron told me it was true and even informed me Soundwave has a recording of the event leading up to Jack's declaration up to the point where he was shot several times in the head for his words," answered Optimus with the Autobots now looking at Jack on the operating table before looking back at the Prime.

"What does that mean for the kid now?" asked Wheeljack with the Prime looking over in Jack's direction.

"I will make my decision once Jack is stable. But if he will not abandon the Decepticon cause...I will do what I must to protect us and our allies," stated Optimus gravely.

"No!" exclaimed Arcee and Airachnid at the same time.

"Optimus you can't do that! Not to Jack. We can keep Jack contained here at the base. We can make some kind of confinement room while he's recovering from his injuries," stated Arcee in the hopes the Prime would agree.

"My Sparklings deserve to meet their Father. To know of that he loves them. To hear him say it. To feel it! Surely you would not deny them that right to know such things Prime!" exclaimed Airachnid, as she truly did care about Jack, and what they had together.

"Jack will be confined for a time if he proves to be a threat Arcee, but if our lost friend is still lost in the delusions of embracing the Decepticon cause, and the threat he possesses becomes to great Airachnid...," stated Optimus while leaving the end result of what was the outcome if it happened to be unspoken knowing the two femme Cybertronians knew the answer.

"He's not a threat! I can feel it Optimus. I can feel it deep within my Spark!" exclaimed Arcee while her leader just looked at Jack with an uncertain face.

"I wish I could feel it as you do Arcee. Perhaps Airachnid herself feels it too given her own connection to Jack. Sadly I do not. I will however, do what I can to help Jack return to us, and become the boy we once knew if only to some degree," answered Optimus with Arcee looking at him and then at Jack.

"I like him the way he is Optimus. My Jack is strong. A warrior. An instrument of death and violence," declared Airachnid while Arcee glared at her.

"The Jack you know is a fraud. A creation of Megatron," stated Arcee with Airachnid shaking her head no.

"That's where you are wrong Arcee. I know my Jack. He's always been there deep within his body. Laying dormant, suppressed by the rest of you, and those that fear his potential should it be reached. Megatron saw Jack's potential, which was why he wanted my lover to serve him. Even Optimus saw and fears that potential if used for evil. Hence why he wants Jack to be turned back into the one you've known before Megatron got a hold of him," replied Airachnid with Arcee scowling at her.

"Take that back!" exclaimed Arcee with Airachnid smirking at her.

"Make me. If you dare!" challenged Airachnid with Arcee extending her arm blades to do battle.

"Enough! Both of you. Airachnid, I will keep my promise so long as you keep yours, and considering the lives growing inside your body I would strongly suggest you go back to your room to rest," commanded Optimus with Airachnid looking at him for a moment before she simply nodded and wobbled away using her spidery legs for help.

"Airachnid needs to be watched Optimus. I don't know how she got out of her restraints or around Wheeljack's explosive, but I do know that her being free to walk around the base not wise," stated Arcee with Optimus nodding.

"Airachnid will be closely monitored Arcee, but I doubt she will do anything foolish given her physical condition, and her own feelings for Jack," stated Optimus with Arcee looking like she wanted to as the humans would say "puke!" from hearing Airachnid having feelings for Jack.

"I still can't believe she did that to him. With him. After all she's done...," stated Arcee with a angry sound leaving her voice box.

"While I am somewhat disturbed by what transpired between the two of them after Jack was turned to Megatron's side by underhanded means, I have seen that Airachnid truly does care about Jack, and will not jeopardize things. This may well be the seed of light needed to take root in Airachnid's Spark and turn her away from the darkness Megatron has poisoned her with after what happened with Silkweb," stated Optimus and saw Arcee was still having trouble with the truth Airachnid had told her.

"I still want to see her burn in the Pit," stated Arcee bitterly.

"You and a lot of other Arcee. Still...do we really want to offline a Cybertronian giving birth to Sparklings simply because she's a Decepticon?" asked Wheeljack with Arcee getting in his face.

"Wait until you lose a partner at her hands and then you won't be so hesitant," said Arcee while pointing her finger at Wheeljack before walking away.

"Leave Arcee alone for now. For the moment, we have other things to worry about, and the threat Megatron now possesses with Jack no longer able to keep him calm," stated Optimus knowing Megatron would not take this newest defeat well.

He never did.

As this happened, Jack was in the middle of surgery being performed by Ratchet with Nurse Darby, who was the boy's Mother currently guiding him in his repair work of Jack's damaged organs. The Autobot Medic still couldn't believe humans needed so many of them to function, as each organ did something important, and was key to the human body working at peak performance.

"Hold on Jack. Fight to live. Please!" stated June while her son lay there unconscious and she was helping Ratchet heal his organs while trying to keep what was there from being moved out of place.

"Jack is strong Nurse Darby. To take all this abuse, the upgrades, and manipulation by the others around him proves your son has great potential. Optimus chose Jack to hold onto the Key to Vector Sigma because it marks that this person has potential in being a Prime if given the chance. The Key to Vector Sigma is a test. A test, which Jack passed with flying colors, and yet sadly his victory was corrupted by Megatron with Unicron adding his own presence to the mix. Though how he had dark energon in his body is still a mystery to me," stated Ratchet while fixing Jack up using the various tools he had and double checking his work to ensure nothing was left alone.

"What about his mind Ratchet? Can you do something to help fix it so he's not loyal to Megatron anymore?" asked June while Ratchet took a look at the back of Jack's head and sighed.

"I'm sorry Nurse Darby, but I can't answer that. I don't have the tools or technology to make the tools needed to work on him at that level. I would also not perform the actual procedure since I have no knowledge of how human brains work. For I know, any action I take will result in memory loss, brain damage, or worse," answered Ratchet and saw June nodding.

"Can you at least get the damaged mask off. I hate it," stated June with Ratchet nodding.

"It would be a pleasure," replied Ratchet before he began removing the helmet since it was not an implant like the others in his body.

(Jack Mind)

Jack found himself floating. Like he was in a pool somewhere. Except that this pool was space with almost pure blackness if not for the stars around him. Looking around, Jack wondered why he was here? Where was here?

_**"So the human fleshling has finally awakened!" **_bellowed a voice similar yet different to Unicron with that same ego driven tone to it.

_"Be more respectful brother. Few outside of thirteen Primes have the power to resist the Will of Unicron,"_ stated a sweeter femme voice.

_**"Why should I dear sister? He's a maggot! He is beneath us! Unicron considers this thing to be his Progeny and thus should be destroyed!"**_ exclaimed the darker voice of the two.

_"Enough! You maybe considered the ultimate evil, but you are a Prime, and thus will act like one in my presence. If not, then you will leave, and not come back,"_ countered the femme voice before silence followed for a long moment.

_**"Do you know why you are here human?"**_ asked the dark voice in the shadows.

"No. Should I?" asked Jack finding his voice to be normal sounding with the light of the nearby star growing bigger and seemed to be hiding something within it.

_"Contrary to my brother's beliefs, the answer is no, and should not be told otherwise,"_ answered the femme voice while Jack sensed the figure behind the light was glaring at the darker figure hiding the shadows of space.

_**"That is a matter of opinion,"**_ stated the darker voice.

_"Silence brother! The boy needs to be told this!"_ exclaimed the femme voice.

"Told what?" asked Jack with the two looking at him completely now.

_"That your destiny now lies beyond this world. That you have the power to end this war between the Autobots and Decepticons,"_ stated the femme voice from the light.

"What? But...how?!" asked Jack with the red eyes in the darkness glowing.

_**"By reviving our ancient home fleshy. To bring it back to life. While I do not care if the Autobots and Decepticons fight their brutal war, I do care about the planet from which we are all born from. You must ensure its return to greatness,"**_ stated the dark entity.

"I can't do anything. Not in my condition," stated Jack while wondering why he wasn't defending his position with the Decepticons and Megatron.

_"Agreed. Hence why my brother and I have stepped in to ensure that you do this without anyone's influence over your body."_ answered the voice of the light.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack with the dark entity letting out a chuckle.

_**"Megatron's little program he had his minion upload into your brain to ensure your loyalty to him is no longer active fleshy. While I dislike the idea of letting you run around performing this service to us, my sister has made it a point to let you do this mission without restraint,"**_ stated the dark entity with a growl signifying his disapproval over the situation.

"And what makes you think I'll do your bidding? Why should I trade one Master for two others?" asked Jack before a sharp blast of red lightning shot from the darkness and hit him right in the chest.

_**"You dare ask such a question? For that you should be sent to the Pit!"**_ bellowed the dark entity before the figure of light created a shield around Jack.

_"Enough Maximo! Jack is right. We are asking a lot of him and in a sense he is serving us in Megatron's place,"_ said the figure in light to the one now known as Maximo.

_**"Solus! We are among the Thirteen Primes. It is not this fleshlings place to question what is asked of him. Especially this abomination that dares try to be a part of our world and bring about the birth of his Sparklings that are an abomination to our species!"**_ declared Maximo to his sister.

"Actually, I think I do since you are asking me to do something that I have yet to fully understand while my body is trashed after what Unicron did out of spite. So if its all the same to you, I'd like to know the details of my mission before I even _consider_ doing it," countered Jack with Maximo growling at him.

_"He has a point brother,"_ said Solus with a hint of amusement.

_**"Fine! If you **__**must**__** know fleshy, the mission the strongest among the Thirteen Primes is asking you to partake in involved finding the Omega Keys,"**_ stated Maximo with Jack looking at him in surprise.

"The Omega Keys?" questioned Jack.

_"Yes. Powerful ancient relics, which when combined together have the power to restore life to our planet, and to Primus himself,"_ stated Solus with Jack's eyes widening.

"But why assign this to me? Why not give it to Optimus Prime? He is one of you," said Jack with Maximo scoffing at the mention of the Prime.

_**"Optimus maybe a Prime, but he is **__**far**__** from worthy of being truly one of us. Primus may have given him the power to be a Prime, but the Autobot lack the Will to use his might to enforce his rule, and defeat Megatron. If he were truly one of us, the war would have ended years ago, and our home planet of Cybertron would not be in its current state,"**_ declared Maximo.

"Well perhaps the planet wouldn't be in that state had Megatron not waged his war in the first place," challenged Jack with Maximo's red optics glowing in the darkness.

_**"Wars are a necessary evil fleshling! Not even your Optimus Prime can challenge you in that. Megatron did what he felt was right with the growing corruption of the society he lived in,"**_ declared Maximo.

_"Sadly, he lost his way when opposed by Optimus, and tried harder to win while losing sight of his goal. You have the power to bring the two together and end this bitter war between them with the restoration of Cybertron. While they may hate each other, they both love their home planet, and wish life be brought back to it once more,"_ stated Solus with Jack nodding.

"But Megatron wishes to rule over it. His desire once was to be a Prime. Something he felt Optimus cheated him of and waged his war out of spite," said Jack while recalling the brief history lesson Ratchet gave once during the all incident with Unicron.

_"We know that and wish the Council had not acted so rashly in making such a public declaration regarding Orion being made the next time Prime for his ideals. The truth is, Megatron was indeed worthy of being a Prime, but went about things the wrong way, and would have been a great ruler had his pride not been hurt that day,"_ answered Solus with Jack being floored by this information.

"That still doesn't answer my question regarding Megatron and his desire to rule over Cybertron. He may work with Optimus for a time, but it will only last until he gets what he wants, and the war will start all over again," stated Jack while the two entities of light and dark looked each other before looking back at him.

_"Which is why we have decided that Megatron will be made a Prime should he help in Cybertron's restoration,"_ declared Solus with Jack looking stunned by this news.

_**"He will keep the balance of our world by sharing his rule with Optimus Prime. One of light, the other of darkness, but the two of them will ensure the other does not become too powerful, and too dominant that our home planet is at risk of being destroyed by the other,"**_ stated Maximo.

_"Just as we did with our brothers and sisters ages ago when Primus became one with our world. Megatron will be the might and Optimus will be the right. They will keep the other noble and in check,"_ stated Solus with Jack nodding.

"They won't exactly go along with this if I tell either of them. At least...not at first. Isn't there some way I can show proof that this is what you want?" asked Jack with the two Primes looking at one another.

_"Sadly we can offer no proof. You must convince them both. If you fail...your world will suffer the same fate,"_ stated Solus before the two vanished from his mind.

"Oh great! Wonderful! Like there wasn't enough pressure on me before now after what I just went through with Unicron," replied Jack sarcastically to no one before he found himself leaving this strange realm to the land of the living.

And awaken to the light being shined in his face by his Mother.

"Jack! You're awake!" exclaimed June before hugging her son with Jack raising a slow, almost shaking hand to return it, and was unsure what to do next.

_**"How long have I been out?"**_ asked Jack curiously and was slightly surprised that his voice system Knock Out put in was still attached.

"A few days. You gave us quite the scare young man," scolded June while trying to keep her son on the berth, but he got up regardless, and was looking around.

_**"I'm at the Autobot base,"**_ stated Jack with June smiling.

"Yes. A lots happened since you were brought back. Though I'm sure the others will be overjoyed to see you're awake," replied June before giving him another hug and was now crying into the crook of his neck.

_**"Its all right Mom. I'm back now. Where is Optimus? I need to talk to him. Its very important,"**_ said Jack since he didn't see the Prime around.

"He's investigating an escape pod of Cybertron origin that crashed down on the planet a short time ago though whether it's friend or foe is still unknown," answered June with Jack getting off the bed despite her protests.

_**"And everyone went? Who is manning the Ground Bridge?"**_ asked Jack before Raf and Miko popped their heads out from above the railing to wave at him.

"That would be me. Ratchet went with the others and Bulkhead isn't in the best of shape right now. He's lucky to be walking actually," answered a solemn Raf knowing they came close to losing a member of Team Prime.

_**"I see," **_said Jack before the Ground Bridge opened and in came the rest of Team Prime.

"Jack! You're alive!" exclaimed Arcee happily seeing her long lost partner up and about again.

_**"As alive as possibly can be given what I've been through,"**_ replied Jack gravely while he stretched his body out and heard several pops along his joints.

"All the more reason for you to be sitting down," replied Ratchet in a "doctor knows best" tone.

_**"I've been sitting for a few days. Anymore and I'll go crazy. Don't make me go Miko on you Ratchet,"**_ countered Jack with Ratchet sputtering before sighing and throwing up his hands in defeat.

"Fine! Just don't complain to me when you fall down when your body locks up or won't respond in a properly functioning form," said Ratchet with Jack smirking before turning his attention to the newest member of the group.

_**"Who's the new guy?"**_ asked Jack with the said new guy looking at him with a raised metal eyebrow.

"The names Smokescreen. What's yours?" answered Smokescreen with Jack smirking at him.

_**"The name is Jack. Jack Darby. A.K.A. Jack the Ripper. I was a former solider of the Decepticons and third-in-command under Megatron himself,"**_ answered Jack with a hint of pride in his voice when stating his former rank.

Something that bother Optimus a bit.

"What? You fought for the Decepticons? But...you are human! Aren't you?" questioned Smokescreen while aiming his blaster cannon on reflex at Jack.

"Its a long story. One that the others can easily tell you about since I have to work on a recovery training regiment for Bulkhead," remarked Ratchet with the said Autobot now limping into the room with a scowl on his face when seeing Smokescreen before it went to enraged when seeing Jack.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't scrap you right now?" asked Bulkhead with his wrecking ball in hand.

"Bulkhead!" exclaimed Arcee furiously.

_**"I just need to give one?"**_ questioned Jack with a hint of amusement that only enraged the large Autobot even further and would have attacked if not for the others.

"Enough! Both of you!" ordered Optimus with authority in his voice.

"After what Jack tried to do to Miko, do you honestly think I'm going to let him walk around the base like nothing happened?" questioned Bulkhead with Jack shrugging.

"I expect you to keep an opened mind about this Bulkhead. If what we have been told is true, Jack here did not join Megatron willingly, and was a slave to his Will without even knowing it," stated Optimus with Jack nodding.

_**"Yeah. You got that right. Never want to have that cortical psychic patch done to me again. That shit hurts,"**_ stated Jack while touching the back of his head and wincing when he came in contact with the general area.

"Regardless, we have a new member among our ranks, an old one returning to the fold after nearly being lost to us, and you Bulkhead are recovering as well from near death. This is a moment of joy for everyone," stated Optimus with Bulkhead grumbling.

_**"There is more then you know Optimus,"**_ replied Jack while hating to kill the mood.

"What do you mean Jack?" asked Arcee while seeing his scarred face looking troubled.

_**"While I was out, I met two of the Thirteen Primes, and they told me something that you might not like,"**_ answered Jack while looking at the Prime.

"What? How could a human meet two of the Thirteen Primes?" asked Smokescreen with Jack glaring at him.

_**"How the Pit should I know?! I just met them. One was the embodiment of light and the other of darkness. One of light was named Solus and the other was named Maximo with both needing my help,"**_ answered Jack with Optimus's optics widening.

"Solus Prime and the Liege Maximo. They were considered the two strongest Primes of the Thirteen," stated Optimus with the others looking from him to Jack.

_**"Yeah. They mentioned something about the Omega Keys and how using all of them would help restore Cybertron's core. That these keys could help bring Cybertron back to life,"**_ continued Jack with the Autobots looking floored by this news.

"Optimus have you ever heard of the Omega Keys?" asked Ratchet with Optimus shaking his head no.

"No old friend. Even with the knowledge of the Thirteen embedded within the Matrix of Leadership, it is possible not _ALL_ of the knowledge they possess was placed there in the event someone like Megatron wished to use such information for evil purposes like he has done with the blood of Unicron," answered Optimus gravely.

_**"Yeeaaah. Uh...here is the thing Optimus, the two Primes basically told me that you, and Megatron have to uh...call a truce," **_stated Jack with a sense of uneasiness.

"WHAT?!" yelled everyone in the room.

_**"They said it first not me. Look, they basically want the war to end, and have the two of you work together to find the Omega Keys so Cybertron can live once more. They also want to make Megatron a Prime afterwards if he goes along with it," **_answered Jack with the group around him looking on in disbelief.

"Make Megatron a Prime? After all that he's done?!" questioned Bulkhead angrily while he glared at the boy.

_**"Hey! You don't like what they said to me? Take it up with the Primes that gave the order!"**_ challenged Jack while glaring back at the Wrecker.

"Did Solus and Maximo honestly tell you this Jack?" asked Optimus with Jack nodding.

_**"They told me what I'm telling you now. If you and Megatron end this war, find the Omega Keys, use them to restore Cybertron, they will make Megatron a Prime to share the ruling of the planet with you. That's what they told me in nutshell. Its meant to keep the two of you in check and noble. Their words not mine!"**_ answered Jack with Optimus looking somewhat hopeful, yet he was unsure if Megatron would agree, and embrace this opportunity before them.

"Megatron hates everything that represents a Prime. I highly doubt he will accept this offer," Ratchet decided to add into the conversation.

_**"Yeah well according to those two Primes, if he doesn't accept, then this world you stand on is screwed like Cybertron, and nobody wins in the end,"**_ answered Jack with Ratchet and the others looking worried.

"And how do we tell Megatron this? He wasn't exactly thrilled you were dead, blown up, possessed by Unicron's spirit, and then possibly killed again while being taken away by us," questioned Wheeljack with Jack thinking it over in his head.

_**"I have to talk to him. Face to face,"**_ answered Jack with everyone looking at him like was crazy.

"No! Out of the question!" exclaimed Arcee while seeing Jack shrug.

_**"You really think he's going to take Optimus's word for it? He needs to hear this from me or the truce won't happen,"**_ answered Jack with a scowl forming on her face.

"Who says we want it to end now? We have Iakon relics to find before the Decepticons do and Megatron isn't going to let them linger here for the sake of a truce to find these keys to bring back Cybertron," challenged Arcee with Jack sighing.

_**"He will if I ask him to stop,"**_ stated Jack with everyone looking at him in surprise.

"And you came to that realization..._how_?!" questioned Ratchet.

_**"Because he will listen to me. He almost always has when it came to my advice. Once the others hear how Cybertron can be brought back to life, the Decepticons among his ranks will see this as a second chance to come back home, and Megatron would be foolish to not consider the idea. That and the prospect of finally being made a Prime as a reward will just be bonus he won't pass up,"**_ answered Jack with Optimus nodding since Megatron had always wanted to be a Prime and this would be his chance.

"When do you wish to make contact with him?" asked Optimus with the others looking at him like just went crazy.

_**"In a few days. I need some more time to rest and speak to Airachnid. We have not spoken since the day Megatron sent her on that fake mission to have her assassinated,"**_ answered Jack while Arcee frowned hearing the Spider Bot's name and the fact he said her name to boot.

"Very well. I trust you Jack. Solus Prime and Liege Maximo would not have stood before you without reason. I shall put my faith and trust in you now Jack," replied Optimus and saw Jack's face produce smile that was familiar to him from the days before his capture.

It brought hope to Optimus's Spark that the Prime did not think would arise after living in the darkness of war for so long.

(A/N: YAY! I updated. Hopefully this was to your liking. Remember this is AU to the standard series so things won't follow how things are going in the show. Am I the only one hoping Airachnid somehow gets free from her stasis pod, captures Jack, and then takes him prisoner for her own amusement by the end of the second season? Because I feel Airachnid can play a key role in things to come and with her own fascination with Jack and the bitter history she has with Arcee...it would be interesting to see if that ever did happen in the third season. Until next time...PEACE!)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10-Conflict of Interest

"Hello Jack. How are you?" asked Airachnid while laying on her back while Jack entered the room and saw him without his mask.

_**"Good. You? How are the little ones?"**_ asked Jack while leaping up to her berth and let the Spider Bot put him gently on her swollen stomach.

"They're fine. I think they are getting anxious to see the world. I can feel them moving about with excitement. I think they know their Father is here," replied Airachnid with Jack smirking at her.

_**"I'll bet. How have the other Autobots treated you?"**_ questioned Jack with Airachnid giving a shrug.

"I can't complain. Though Arcee still has that look in her optics like I should be turned into scrap right now. She didn't take the news of our sexual union and what happened as a result of it very well," said Airachnid with Jack grimacing.

_**"I want to trust Arcee. I want to believe she won't do something stupid, but when it comes to that temper of hers...I don't want you provoking the femme anymore,"**_ stated Jack with Airachnid raising a metal eyebrow.

"Provoke Arcee? Me?!" questioned Airachnid with a sense of "hurt" in her voice while Jack gave her a "I know you do" look.

_**"Airachnid,"**_ Jack deadpanned with his tone matching his facial expression.

"All right! All right! I won't provoke Arcee..._much_!" said Airachnid with Jack sighing.

_**"That will do for now. Just...behave! Please Airachnid. For the lives that are growing inside of you,"**_ said Jack in a tired tone while Airachnid's optics softened slightly and she wrapped a gentle hand over him.

"I swear on the All Spark I'll behave Jack," whispered Airachnid while moving him down to like her torso around her breast plating.

_**"That's my spider girl,"**_ whispered Jack while dozing off slightly and Airachnid doing the same.

(With Optimus and the Others)

"Optimus this is a bad idea. To let Jack go to see Megatron without backup is stupid and downright suicidal!" exclaimed Arcee with Optimus looking at her calmly.

"Megatron is unpredictable right now Optimus. There is no telling what he will do with the information regarding the Omega Keys and the Omega Lock having the power to restore Cybertron to its former greatness before the war happened. A war that _HE_ caused in the first place," Ratchet added in this conversation.

"I know just how volatile Megatron can be Ratchet. As for Jack's plan of action, I do not agree with him going to Megatron lightly, but at the same time I have no choice, and can only hope Megatron will see reason to ending the madness that is this war. The idea of uniting for the purpose of restoring our home planet and being made a Prime might be enough to sway Megatron's Spark," answered Optimus with Ratchet letting out a sigh.

"The Decepticon Warlord is too scarred from the past Optimus. I don't have the high hopes you do that Megatron will change for that. Sentinel Prime made the mistake of making that Pit of a Caste system that caused the inequality among the masses in the first place, not to mention the Councils unwillingness to oppose it like so many were doing, and prevent Megatron from using it to swell his ranks," replied Ratchet with Optimus sighing heavily.

"Add to the various scandals the Council caused with Airachnid's near death and the killing of Silkweb rallying the insect based Cybertronians to his cause didn't help either. I tried to fix it when I became a Prime, but I failed in that regard, and Megatron's hatred of me for taking what he felt was rightfully his for wanting to change Cybertron for the better has indeed made my old friend a bitter warrior," admitted Optimus and his eyes had a sad expression to them.

"So why are you agreeing to Jack's plan?" asked Arcee before hearing soft footsteps behind her to reveal Jack was there and judging by the expression on his face...the boy heard everything.

_**"Because like me, Optimus hopes Megatron will embrace the ideals he once had, and become the Prime he always wanted to become,"**_ answered Jack with Optimus smiling down at the boy.

"And if your wrong about Megatron?" asked Wheeljack with his arms crossed in front of him.

_**"If I'm wrong and things goes bad? I'll take my hits when Megatron sends them my way. I'll take them for everyone for as long as possible. Hopefully it won't come to that,"**_ replied Jack with the boy making a hand motion to the second floor and Raf activated the Ground Bridge.

"That's not very reassuring," stated Arcee while Jack headed for the portal of light.

_**"Look at it this way Arcee. If things go bad and we see each other again...you can just say 'I told you so' and rub it in my face later,"**_ replied Jack before he was gone.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

Megatron was in a angry mood on the bridge of his Warship. His surrogate son, his weapon, his diamond in the rough among the human species was taken from him! It had filled the Warlord with so much rage that he nearly lashed out at Soundwave in a fit of anger before barely bringing it in moments prior to doing something even Megatron himself would regret doing. Dreadwing had stayed at his Master's side, awaiting orders from him, and weathering the chaotic storm that was Megatron's fury. Primus only knew what would happen the next time Megatron decided to fight Optimus, as the Decepticon Warlord was in no mood to be merciful, and wouldn't hesitate to kill any Autobot caught in his line of sight.

Not that Dreadwing could blame his Lord and Master for feeling this way. Megatron had found Jack to be the perfect warrior among the humans. Molded into being his perfect creation, withstanding pain, suffering, and even death itself to become something truly remarkable! Only now he was back with the Autobots, injured, and possibly dead after that internal battle with Unicron from what Soundwave had shown on his visor of that moment involving Jack's "resurrection" by the Bringer of Chaos's manipulations.

"Lord Megatron, there is a communication signal coming in from below on the planet," said a Vehicon on one of the bridge consoles.

"Airachnid?" questioned Megatron since the Spider Bot and Starscream were the only two Decepticons who knew how to transmit a communication signal to the Warship.

"No sir! Its...Its Jack the Ripper!" answered the Vehicon with Megatron looking shocked and slightly hopeful.

"Open up communication with him at once and track the signal to locate his position!" commanded Megatron with Soundwave moving to a consol to take over.

_**"Lord Megatron,"**_ said Jack while sounding humble.

"Jack, where are you? How did you escape the Autobots?" asked Megatron while silence answered for a moment.

_**"I did not escape the Autobots my Lord. Recent events has changed perspectives in this war and with your permission I wish to speak to you personally about them onboard the Nemesis,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron frowning before turning to Soundwave and saw him tracing the signal to a remote location in the empty plains of the Nevada desert.

"What events? Are you saying that you no longer serve me?" questioned Megatron while trying to keep his temper from getting out of control.

_**"Its hard to explain my Lord. Even the Autobots do not fully understand it when I explained my need to see you about what I have learned. I need to speak to you in person. If you believe this to be some kind of Autobot trap, I will meet you at any location you deem fit, and Dreadwing can retrieve me after I relinquish my sword to Soundwave,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron thinking it over.

"Stay where you are Ripper. Dreadwing and Soundwave will open a Ground Bridge to your coordinates so they may detain you before seeing me," commanded Megatron while Dreadwing nodded and was already set to go.

_**"As you command Lord Megatron. I will be waiting," **_answered Jack before the line went dead.

"I do not believe it is a trap my Lord. The Autobots would never use the boy in such a manner," stated Dreadwing with Megatron nodding in agreement.

"I agree Dreadwing. Still, I do question why Jack wishes to speak to me so soon. Be on your guard Dreadwing. You too Soundwave. For all we know, this is a trap set by the Prime as retaliation for us turning to boy to our side. If there is one thing I have learned in my many years of fighting Optimus, it is to never underestimate the Prime, or his forces when it comes to a fight," commanded Megatron with his two high ranking officers giving a quick nod and a Ground Bridge opened up for the two to enter.

When they exited the portal, they saw Jack sitting on his knees, staring at the clear blue sky, his sword beside him, and they noticed his Decepticon symbol for a mask was no longer apart of his face. Looking around, they did not see any form of landscape that could hide the Autobots, and Soundwave was not picking up any of their energon signals to indicate they were even remotely close to their current location.

_**"You came to get me. I'm glad,"**_ said Jack while not looking at them from his current position.

"Lord Megatron wishes to speak with you Jack," stated Dreadwing with Jack nodding and getting off the ground with sword in hand.

_**"I know he does. I will answer them and answer them truthfully,"**_ replied Jack before he handed the sword in his hands over to Soundwave.

Without further words spoken, Dreadwing, Soundwave, and Jack casually entered the Ground Bridge back to the _Nemesis_ where Megatron was waiting for the latter of the three. The Decepticon Warlord turned from his view of the outside world before him to the boy now standing several feet away. The boy's mask had been removed/cutoff, no doubt by the Autobot's Medic at the behest of the Prime, and saw Jack's slightly scarred face was seeable to all.

"Welcome back Ripper. Its good to see you again after what happened since we last saw you," said Megatron with Jack kneeling humbly before him.

_**"As am I Lord Megatron,"**_ replied Jack before standing fully to look into the optics of the Decepticon Warlord.

"What was it you wished to speak to me about? You mentioned recent events changed your perspective on the war with the Autobots. Care to elaborate?" questioned Megatron with Jack nodding while feeling some of the Vehicons were turning toward him with their right arms moments away from turning into a laser cannon.

_**"Yes. It all began after I was taken to the Autobot base after Unicron tried to kill me for my act of defiance. He doesn't take reject well,"**_ replied Jack while running a hand over his torso and felt the phantom pain from the sword piercing through his flesh.

"And?" asked Megatron while wanting Jack to explain further.

_**"As I recovered from emergency surgery Ratchet performed to save my life, I found myself meeting two of the thirteen Primes,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron's optics going wide in shock.

"Impossible!" stated Megatron.

_**"That's what the Autobots thought until I told them it was Solus Prime and the Liege Maximo,"**_ replied Jack with Megatron looking at him in disbelief.

"Why would two of the most influential Primes among the thirteen wish to speak to you Jack?" questioned Dreadwing with Jack turning slightly to look at him.

_**"Because they want the war between you and Autobots to end and they even told me how,"**_ answered Jack before turning to look back at Megatron.

"How?" asked Megatron curiously.

_**"You must make peace with Optimus Prime. You must call a truce,"**_ answered Jack with many around him protesting loudly before Megatron raised his hand and silenced them.

"Why?" asked Megatron though his tone told Jack to give him a reason that wouldn't result in his termination on the spot by the Warlord himself.

_**"Because they are sick and tired of this war being fought between the two sides and want it to end,"**_ answered Jack seeing Megatron snarl slightly in anger.

"I don't answer to the Primes. Whether they're living or dead," countered Megatron with Jack frowning slightly.

_**"They wanted me to talk to you about this. To at least consider it,"**_ stated Jack with Megaton looking angrier by the second.

"Consider it? Why by the All Spark would I wish to consider the idea of ending the war and declaring _peace_ with the Autobots? With Prime?!" exclaimed Megatron angrily and saw Jack's feature soften.

_**"Because if you do what they ask and what I have yet to tell you...they will decree you a Prime like Optimus,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron looking stunned and everyone just looked shocked by this news.

"What did you say?" questioned Megatron while his tone told Jack that he better be serious and telling the truth or else.

_**"If you make peace with Optimus, a true truce between the two sides, and assist in a mission of the utmost importance...they will make you a Prime,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron grabbing the boy and holding up until they were staring each other at an equal optic level.

"They will make me a Prime? If I make peace with Optimus and assist my old friend in a mission of the utmost importance? Did you just say that?" asked Megatron with his optics staring right into the boy's eyes.

_**"Yes. They will make you a Prime, but ONLY if you agree to what they want," **_replied Jack with Megatron narrowing his optics.

"What does Prime and his Autobot followers think of this?" questioned Megatron.

_**"Optimus is hoping you will agree. The others are vary in their opinions, but some do not believe you have the Spark to agree to the terms set by the Primes," **_ answered Jack with Megatron scowling.

"What are the terms?" asked Megatron since it was important to know what he had to do in order to become a Prime.

_**"In the Iacon relic data base their are coordinates to find a set of keys. Omega Keys they are called and they hold the power to revive Cybertron to her rightful beauty. If you help Optimus Prime find all these keys and use them to restore Cybertron back to its former greatness...you will become a Prime,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron looking at him with a shocked expression on his face.

In fact all the Decepticons were shocked to hear this.

"By Primus himself, are you saying there is a way to restore Cybertron back to normal to the what it looked like..._before _the war?" asked Dreadwing hopefully.

_**"Yes. The Omega Keys unlock a powerful device left behind by the Ancients. Its called the Omega Lock. If you make peace with Optimus, the Autobots, and assist in them in retrieving the keys to restore Cybertron...your Spark's desire will be granted Megatron. You will become a Prime and share in the ruling of Cybertron with Optimus to lead it into a new golden age," **_answered Jack with Megatron intrigued by the idea.

"And what's to stop me from ruling Cybertron by myself _without _Optimus? Why should I share my position of new found power with Prime?" asked Megatron with Jack scowling furiously at him.

_**"Because no one being should have all that power to rule over an entire planet. Why do you think Primus made the Thirteen Primes in the first place? He could have just defeated Unicron on his own, but where would that have left him? Primus would have gone mad and drunk with power so he made the Thirteen to ensure not only Unicron's defeat, but to ensure no one Prime had all the power to rule over Cybertron. Look what happened with Sentinel Prime and what he did to Cybertron in creating that unfair Caste system. He had all the power because he was the only Prime at the time so no one could challenge his decision until it came to the point where the unrest became so great that a war led by you broke out. You and Optimus keep the other balanced! That is what Cybertron needs when restored to its former glory and only you along with Optimus can make it happen! Who cares if you share the power and responsibility so long as the people prosper from it?!"**_ argued Jack passionately with Megatron snarling slightly at the mention of Sentinel Prime, but knew the boy had a point.

"I care Jack. I do not share absolute power," countered Megatron with Jack looking at him with a disappointed face.

_**"Your answer is no I take it," **_stated Jack with Megatron snarling angrily.

"My answer is no. Dreadwing, take the boy to the brig, but do not harm him. He is to be kept there until I decide what to do with him," commanded Megatron with the Warlord handing Jack to Dreadwing.

"Yes my Lord," replied Dreadwing before he began to turn away.

_**"You are being foolish Megatron. You are throwing away your one and only chance to be called a Prime due to your own pride! You still hate the fact Orion Pax was chosen by the Council to become a Prime while you were cast aside and you blamed your old friend for taking what you wanted,"**_ Jack called out to Megatron with the Warlord now moving quickly grab Dreadwing's wrist to raise it so he could stare at the boy.

"My pride has nothing to do with my decision Ripper! I wanted to become a Prime to end the inequality Sentinel Prime caused for my people and the Council was too spineless to undo his actions. I had more then earned the right to be a Prime and they chose Orion over me simply because his course didn't involve bloodshed!" exclaimed Orion with the boy simply glaring back.

_**"Had you not let your anger get the better of you when the Council wounded your pride, you would have been worthy, and eventually become a Prime! Solus and Maximo told me that had you stayed the course the right to being a Prime would have been yours! Now after so many years of fighting the Autobots, you are given a chance to become a Prime, and bring about Cybertron's restoration only to throw it away due to your pride once more. Just this once, you just have to swallow your pride, and all that you could have wanted from the start before the war will be within your reach!"**_ countered Jack with Megatron snarling at him.

"Enough! Take him away!" commanded Megatron with Dreadwing complying with the order.

_**"For the briefest of moments, I thought you had finally become the Cybertronian that Optimus always hoped you would be when it came to such a decision, and see reason instead of madness,"**_ whispered Jack sadly though it was picked up by Megatron and the fierce Decepticon Warlord looked away from the boy while trying to keep his face stoic.

"As if I want to become a Prime now. The Autobots are on the defensive, I now know of the Omega Keys, and the Omega Lock they go to exist for the single purpose of reviving Cybertron. I don't need the blessings of two dead Primes to make me into one like my old friend. I can just make myself a Prime once I have Cybertron is restored by my hands!" said Megatron to himself, but even then his words seemed hollow, and somewhat empty to his audio receptors.

_Just this once, you have to swallow your pride, and all that you could have wanted from the start before the war will be without your reach!_

"Now why would I do that Soundwave? I don't need Optimus or the Autobots to help revive Cybertron. I don't need dead Primes trying to broker peace with the losing side of this war. I don't need what they are offering!" exclaimed Megatron furiously at this loyal spymaster and intelligence gathering officer.

_You are being foolish Megatron. You are throwing away your one and only chance to be called a Prime due to your own pride! You still hate the fact Orion Pax was chosen by the Council to become a Prime while you were cast aside and you blamed your old friend for taking what you wanted._

"And what do you suggest I do Soundwave? Simply swallow my pride? Make peace with Optimus and help him restore Cybertron to earn my rightful place in being a Prime so we can share our rule over our home planet? You of all Decepticons should know that is not possible!" countered Megatron while seeing his reflection in the visor.

_Swallow your pride_.

"Enough Soundwave! Decode the Iacon database and try to searching for the coordinates that will lead us to the Omega Keys," commanded Megatron with Soundwave nodding with a slight hesitation before obeying.

(_The Nemesis_-The Brig)

"Did those two Primes really tell you all those things you told Lord Megatron? That our home planet could be restored? That Megatron could become a Prime?" asked Dreadwing while holding the boy in his hand.

_**"Every word I spoke to him was true. Unfortunately, the sting to his wounded pride he got ages ago has turned into a scar that won't heal,"**_ answered Jack with Dreadwing finding himself conflicted on the matter.

"I fear that is the case. Much has changed in Lord Megatron since the last time I saw him during my time before I came to this planet," replied Dreadwing sadly.

_**"Dark energon will do that to you Dreadwing. Trust me when I say don't ever touch the stuff. Its bad for your health,"**_ stated Jack with Dreadwing nodding in agreement.

"What will happen when the Autobots suspect Lord Megatron has turned down the offer of the truce?" questioned Dreadwing with Jack shrugging.

_**"They'll keep fighting Megatron, you, and the rest of the Decepticons,"**_ answered Jack casually.

"And you? Will you fight beside us or has your allegiance to Lord Megatron left you as well?" questioned Dreadwing with Jack shrugging.

_**"The program Megatron created and had downloaded into my head thanks in no small part by Soundwave to make me loyal to him was purged by the Primes. At the same time, I can also feel sympathy for Megatron knowing things could have been different had he just stayed the course, and not betrayed his own convictions. I was hoping to call him Megatronus Prime, but now...that hope is lost,"**_ answered Jack before he was tied up in chains and left to hang there.

"Not as lost as you think. I will talk to Lord Megatron about this. Perhaps he will listen to me," countered Dreadwing since the idea of restoring Cybertron to greatness and seeing his Lord become a Prime was something he honestly wished to see happen.

_**"Perhaps,"**_ was the only thing Jack could say at this point and watched Dreadwing walk away.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

"Why is this creature here Knockout?" asked Megatron when seeing the mangled body of Breakdown standing before him and being piloted by a human surgically implanted there with the human in complete control.

It was disgusting.

"Lord Megatron, I am Cylas, which stands for Cybernetic Life Augmented by Symbiosis, and I have a proposition for you," answered Cylas, as he grinned at Megatron, and thus made the face of Breakdown grin too.

"Lord Megatron, this is the one who ordered Breakdown be surgically torn open. Allow me to return the favor!" requested Knockout with his buzz saw active in his right arm.

"And miss out on this golden opportunity I'm offering you? To miss out on the use of some seriously advanced firepower against your enemies? The same enemies who are my own?" questioned Cylas and saw Megatron stay Knockout's hand.

"And what is it that you want in exchange?" asked Megatron with Cylas smirk growing slightly wider.

"Merely a seat...at the table," answered Cylas humbly with Megatron not looking entirely impressed, but it was clear he wanted to see what was being offered before saying yes.

"Show me what you have and if I'm impressed...I'll consider it," replied Megatron with Knockout looking shocked.

"Lord Megatron be reasonable! This human is an abomination! He...," said Knockout, but his objection over the matter were squashed by Megatron's glare.

"Allow me to introduce you to my pet project that made me realize just how important technology truly is and the power behind using such technology. Project Damocles," said Cylas with pride in his voice and began to show Megatron what he had to offer with his satellite.

(Autobot Base)

"No news yet from Jack?" asked Arcee to Ratchet with the Medic shaking his head.

"No. And its been hours since he clearly made contact with Megatron. I fear Jack was unable to convince Megatron to change his ways for the good of Cybertron much less make a change for the good of himself," answered Ratchet while glancing over at the human charges of their group.

The two children were watching TV, but only to keep their minds occupied so they didn't have to think about their friend being ripped apart again by Megatron. June was talking with Janus about what seemed like old times and the smile on the woman's face meant it was one of those better memories she was recalling.

"He shouldn't have gone. Not without backup!" exclaimed Arcee with Ratchet shaking his head.

"No. As much as I didn't want Jack to go alone, it would have been worse if one of us went with him, and we were taken prisoner. A mere cortical psychic patch and the base would be compromised," countered Ratchet with Arcee looking away.

"Like they will with Jack...again!" Arcee shot back with Ratchet shaking his head.

"No. They can't do it a third time to him Arcee. Jack would not survive such a thing and I'm sure Megatron knows it too," replied Ratchet with Arcee looking shocked.

"And what if he does regardless?" asked/accused Arcee with Ratchet sighing and looking away from her.

"Then Jack will die and Megatron will get nothing except blank memories from the boy in the process," answered Ratchet with Arcee looking at him in horror.

"We have to find a way on the ship to prevent that!" exclaimed Arcee, as she was in the Autobot Medic's face, and it was clear her comrade was stumped on what to do.

"There is nothing we can do Arcee. Until we know otherwise, Jack is alive, well, and in working out the terms in which we can have peace with the Decepticons," replied Ratchet with Arcee scoffing and walking from him.

"The words 'peace' and 'Decepticons' aren't exactly thrown into the same sentence unless the word 'no' is involved," countered Arcee with Ratchet nodding.

"All the more reason to hope that Jack will succeed," came the voice of Optimus Prime with his two subordinates looking a bit more skeptical over this issue.

"Optimus, no offense to your commanding style, but even _I_ can feel this mission has a slim chance of succeeding, and I'm the new guy here with little experience in dealing with Decepticons," replied Smokescreen with the newest recruit wondering what had happened on this planet to shift things completely off road.

"The rookie's right Optimus. Don't get me wrong, if genuine peace can be made, and Cybertron can be restored to normal I'll be the first to drink some high grade energon with a Decepticon. But you got to admit this whole deal is _WAY_ out there and defies all reason. I mean...the odds of the Doc acting happy and dancing around from drinking too much energon are much better then this," remarked Wheeljack with Ratchet sputtering and letting out a small growl at the Wreacker's remark.

"The odds seem slim Wheeljack. I will not deny or ignore that simple fact. But if we do not make the attempt...then what does it mean to be an Autobot or to truly rise above ourselves?" questioned Optimus with Wheeljack looking away and Bulkhead let out a groan.

"I hate it when he mentions stuff like that," remarked Bulkhead with Wheeljack nodding with a smirk on his face.

"Do you ever get use to it?" asked Wheeljack with Bulkhead smirking.

"No really, but it does put things in perspective. Even if the truth is a pain in the moral aft," replied Bulkhead with the two laughing.

Before Agent Fowler came to visit and told them what happened at the base in Colorado with the body of Breakdown being revealed to them on the screen.

"That...looks like Breakdown," stated Arcee with a frown on her face.

"Breakdown? We haven't seen him for awhile. Didn't he go offline thanks to Airachnid?" questioned Bulkhead and saw Arcee's frown become a scowl at the mention of the Spider Bot's name.

"So she claimed when I fought her in that cave of empty stasis pods," answered Arcee with the image of Breakdown showing the Decepticon had been through quite a lot.

"According to what I was able to learn from the survivors of the attack, Silas was in the body, and used his real name with his military rank to try entering the base covertly. But he failed to realize that his time away had caused the Top Brass to blacklist his name and they attempted to detain him for questioning. Hence the destruction that soon followed when Breakdown's body went from his alt. mode to his true form and Silas decided to take the pet project he had created that the Top Brass swept under the rug," explained Fowler before Raf brought up the information provided by the former Ranger on what that pet project was that Silas coveted so much.

"A satellite weapon?" questioned Ratchet while looking over the specs.

"Yes. Its design, programming, and firepower allow it to do some serious damage from anywhere in space to the ground below. It could give each head on Mount Rushmore a Mohawk with pinpoint accuracy or carve the Decepticon symbol on the Moon with pure artistic style without breaking a sweat," explained Fowler with the footage of the dead Decepticon now turned into a puppet with a human puppeteer being confronted by the Decepticons before entering with them into the portal.

"So much for peace between us and the Decepticons," remarked Arcee with Optimus now sporting a grave look on his face.

"This footage was taken a few hours ago. Whether or not Silas can sweet-talk his way into Megatron's good graces is unknown. From what you told me about Silas being the same as Megatron, I'd say our enemies are going to at least hear his proposal Prime," explained Fowler with Optimus looking even more grave.

"We can only wait and see what Megatron's next move will be after meeting with Silas over this new weapon. Only then can we determine whether or not Jack has failed in his mission," replied Optimus with the others unsure how to handle this.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

"As you can see from what I've shown you Lord Megatron, Project Damocles is indeed a work of art in terms of weaponry, and can obliterate your enemies from extremely long range with little effort on your end," explained Cylas with Megatron looking over the design of the satellite in front of him.

"Its crude human technology. Hardly something worth the time of an advanced race such as mine Cylas. So why should I bother with it when I have an army under my command and a Warship capable of doing what this satellite can do at my disposal?" questioned Megatron while seeing the opposite in Cylas then what he saw in Jack.

It was like looking a pure polar opposites.

"Because this doesn't drain your ship of energon Lord Megatron. Pure solar power at its finest from the Sun itself is the source of energy needed to fuel it and channels that same fuel into the laser. A never ending supply of energy into a deadly weapon capable of literally carving your mark onto any planet's surface and melting your enemies on the spot," explained Cylas while sensing Megatron was not the happy "customer" he was hoping to talk to about this.

"I have know of countless Cybertronian weapons that can do the same thing. Several are on this Warship. So tell me Cylas. Tell me why should I even consider accepting this piece of human technology like it was their equal?" questioned Megatron with Cylas giving him an uneasy smile.

"Why not test it out for yourself if you doubt me! Once you go this military base and get the access codes, the satellite will be under your complete, and total control to use how _you_ see fit. At least give what I'm offering a test run before you disregard it like a piece of junk," answered Cylas seeing Megatron narrowing his optics at him.

"Very well. Soundwave! Take a squadron with you to these coordinates for the base and download the codes for the satellite so we can have our 'test run' of this satellite to see if its really the work of art our guest claims it is in his eyes," commanded Megatron while Soundwave nodded and proceed to recruit the squad needed while the Warlord himself was leaving the bridge.

"Where are you going Lord Megatron? Surely you don't want to miss out on this grand show?" asked Cylas with Megatron shooting him a menacing glare.

"I have other business that I need to attend to right now Cylas. Do not touch anything or else you and Breakdown will have something very much in common," said Megatron before leaving the bridge.

(The Brig-With Jack)

Jack was held by chains, dangling almost lifelessly with his eyes closed, but in truth he was focused on the task at hand, and how to convince Megatron to see the truth. The Decepticon Warlord's pride had caused him to wage war on Cybertron and once more was blinding Megatron to the chance of a lifetime! He needed to convince Megatron that his pride was his weakness and forsake his pride just this _once_! Just once and everything his Spark desired would be within the Decepticon Leader's grasp. Cybertron restored, power to rule over the planet, and finally being made a Prime while sharing that rule with Optimus to ensure another golden age.

_**"I was wondering when you come see me. Though what your intentions are for me are up in the air at this point," **_ said Jack when the door opened and Megatron stepped into the room.

"This is the first time I've held a prisoner I did not wish to hurt Jack. You're actions since coming here are a bit...disturbing. Considering I am your surrogate Father, it puts me in a position I am not familiar with, and this information about restoring Cybertron to its former glory takes precedence over all other things," explained Megatron with his tone light, gentle, and almost Fatherly.

_**"And you want me to tell you more,"**_ stated Jack with Megatron nodding.

"Yes. Surely you know more then what you told me earlier?" questioned Megatron with Jack shaking his head.

_**"No. I told you everything. I didn't see a reason to withhold information from you in this matter,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron frowning somewhat.

"Are you sure?" asked Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"I am sure,"**_ replied Jack with Megatron shaking his head.

"How sad then that I have to leave you like this until later. Optimus will once again be devastated that the mission he sent you on was a failure," said Megatron with Jack letting out a frustrated sigh.

_**"Optimus didn't send me on this mission. I volunteered against his initial protest and the protest of the other Autobots. I wanted you to know about this and have a chance to become greater then yourself!" **_exclaimed Jack and saw Megatron frown and scoff at the notion of the idea.

"Optimus chose his side all those years ago boy. Do you know that I mentored him back before he was Orion Pax? That I helped set him on the path that led him to betray me? To take what was mine?!" asked Megatron with Jack surprising him by nodding.

_**"Ratchet told me of how Orion Pax became Optimus Prime. How you mentored him when you left the gladiatorial arena for the political one. How you two stood before the Council to propose a new era for Cybertron. I don't think the Council liked how you chose the path of violence and open revolution to remove the old guard,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron out a "Bah!" at the end.

"The Council were all loyal to Sentinel Prime! He was the one who created the Caste system that was the source of the inequality and refused to change it. The only way to change things at the time was through force since those in power didn't want to change things due to what they would lose in the end," countered Megatron with Jack absorbing this piece of information.

_**"Hence why they liked Orion's idea better then yours,"**_ replied Jack with Megatron nodding his head.

"Orion Pax always had his Spark in the right place. I'll give him that much. But his Spark was also too naive in all the wrong places too. The Council saw me as a threat, the fact I was right about the Caste system Sentinel Prime created, and how I could rally others on Cybertron to my cause because no one in power wanted to lost it. So they decided to play Orion against me by having him declared worthy of being a Prime after hearing his own version of things. Orion did _nothing _to dispute their claims, as he was too damn humble to protest, and stick up for me when he _knew_ my way was the true path for Cybertron!" exclaimed Megatron passionately.

_**"Solus Prime and Maximo believed the Council was hasty in making their decision in their desire to make Orion the next Prime. They were wrong to exclude you just as you were wrong to let your pride take control after being scorned by them. Orion never meant to hurt you Megatron, in fact Optimus mourned your death after the Space Bridge exploded, and wished you had not followed such a violent path of destruction,"**_ replied Jack with Megatron stopping in his walking around the boy and took a moment to absorb this information.

"Perhaps, but the wound he left on my Spark as Orion Pax has yet to heal, and the fact Optimus mourned my death does not heal it despite what you may think Jack," countered Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"I didn't expect it to heal your scarred Spark. I just thought that you should know just for the sake of knowing," **_stated Jack with Megatron smirking slightly while looking at the human with an appraising look.

"All for the sake of seeing things from a new perspective?" asked Megatron with the boy looking over slightly to see a slight glimpse of the Decepticon Warlord.

_**"Yes and no. I wanted you to know the truth that was not known to you. I wanted you to know that there is a way to have what your hearts desire without the need to kill the Autobots. Would it be so wrong to work with them again? It worked against Unicron so why not now?!"**_ said Jack with Megatron pausing once again in his circling of the boy and the memory of him and Optimus fighting side by side within the very belly of the beast that was Unicron's inner body.

Moving in perfect harmony. Moving in anticipation of the others thoughts. Their actions mirroring the other down to the last action of movement. The trust they had in the other to fight side by side without a shadow of doubt the other would betray or backstab the other when the opportunity might have presented itself.

Even when Unicron tried to influence him, Megatron could tell Optimus had the utmost faith in his former brother in arms to not snuff out his Spark, and do the right thing in ending Unicron.

Would it be so wrong to do that one more time?

"We will talk about this later Jack. I have business to conduct with Cylas," answered Megatron with Jack looking at him in disbelief.

_**"The Leader of M.E.C.H. is here on the Warship? How did he get here? What business are you conducting with him?"**_ asked Jack with Megatron pausing near the door.

"That is not relevant Ripper. He also doesn't know you are here. Something I intend to keep that way until further notice. Don't worry about the man's value in being worth my time since he's not worth much to my opinion. I'd sooner accept Starscream back into my ranks before I embrace Cylas as one of us. As for why he is here...Cylas wish for a seat at the table of power," answered Megatron with Jack scowling at him.

_**"He's not to be trusted. Ever! The man has no honor. He is the lowest form of human scum on this planet with an ego the size of Unicron to match his filthiness. Anything he offers you is not worth the scrap its made of!"**_ exclaimed Jack with Megatron smirking at him.

"I know Jack, but amusing him for a short time into thinking he is worth it will be most enjoyable after I show the man in Breakdown's body what a fool he truly is to my optics," replied Megatron before leaving the room to handle his business with Cylas.

And eventually grant Knockout his request regarding the expressed desire of off lining the fool that dared desecrate a fallen Decepticon warrior.

(Sometime Later)

"I can we can rule out the idea of peace with the Decepticons now!" exclaimed Arcee, as she fired at the Vehicons with her comrades, and cursed how they were so blinded by the hopes of a human boy on a quest made by two dead Primes.

"Well its not like we didn't try and make the actual attempt. Megatron's loss if you ask me!" remarked Smokescreen before ducking a laser blast.

"Nobody did!" Arcee fired back.

(_The Nemesis_-The Bridge)

"The satellite has been launched Megatron," said Cylas with Megatron looking him over like an insect.

"And yet we do not have the codes for full complete control. A bit..._premature_ to launch on your part since I never gave the _order_!" remarked Megatron with Cylas's "face" that was once Breakdown now showing nervousness.

"Not necessarily. While Soundwave is down there getting them, he has full access to the satellite, and can give you a _proper _demonstration of what will happen after we have it," offered Cylas with Megatron letting out a small huff.

"Let's see what this thing can do. Soundwave! Prepare to beta test," command Megatron to his loyal spymaster for a Decepticon.

And Megatron watched the screen with mild, yet still bored interest, and saw the weapon did have an impressive punch to it. Still, it was primitive human technology compared to Cybertronian tech, and while it did pack a punch...it was still flawed in its design. The Decepticon Warlord could give credit where credit was due regarding human ingenuity in making new things, but their imagination far outreached their technological ability to match up what their minds wished to create, and it what they did was always lacking in areas that they did not consider working on.

"Well...impressed?" asked Cylas with Megatron seeing it was indeed very accurate with pinpoint precision.

Even more so with Soundwave commanding it.

"Promising," answered Megatron while Cylas grinned further.

"With Soundwave in control, victory over our enemies is assured, and the world itself is one big firing range to make your mark," boasted Cylas while Megatron did not look as impressed like he hoped.

Rather Megatron was thinking of other things like what Jack told him about his current unwanted and unwelcome guest on his Warship. Cylas was a parasite that preyed on anything more advanced himself, hence the forming of M.E.C.H. to hunt for such things, what the organization did to Breakdown, and now using the corpse of that same fallen Decepticon to become this scarred _abomination_ standing before him like some kind of _equal_! It was _infuriating_!

'And now I'm using human technology from this fool to attack them. The whole event seems...dull when compared to all the other times I've fought Optimus and his forces,' thought Megatron while he saw Optimus's force scatter to dodge the laser and scowled when some of his troops were destroyed by "friendly fire" in the process.

"Well...what do you think?" asked Cylas before the system told the two that there was a hacker in the system and was redirecting the path of the satellite.

"I think this has been a waste of my time," answered Megatron in a frustrated tone before they saw what this hacker (one of the human allies of the Autobots no doubt) was doing in moving the satellite into the atmosphere to burn the weapon up.

That was the problem with human technology, it could still be _hacked_ _by_ _humans_, and therefore was a liability if one such human had the skill. Based on what Megatron saw at the Autobot base when he gave them the coordinates to Unicron's Spark Chamber, he was willing to wager it was the little boy that had survived his attack with the Autobot Scout prior to that moment.

"Don't worry about this Lord Megatron. This is only slight setback. The only reason this failed was due to the Autobots having the 'human factor' for their group," said Cylas, as he saw Megatron glaring at him with burning red optics, and knew that _might_ have been the wrong thing to say.

"I am well aware of the 'human factor' Cylas. In fact, I've recruited one of my own to the cause, and only now do I realize his advice on certain matters should have been addressed sooner. Regardless, the demonstration with your satellite was interesting to say the least, as it did provide me with some unique insight on my next course of action, and you Cylas have indeed earned yourself a seat at the table. Knockout's _operating table_ to be more precise," replied Megatron with a grin and Cylas looked shocked while Knockout was looking happier then he had in Months and gleefully dragged the man within his former assistant away with the help of an Insecticon away.

"And what of Jack my Lord?" asked Dreadwing while ignoring the pleas from the fool in Breakdown's dead and scarred body.

"Bring Jack here Dreadwing. I wish to talk to him about his proposal in reviving our home planet," answered Megatron with Dreadwing looking shocked, but in the end was slightly pleased, and bowed humbly.

"I will bring him here immediately Lord Megatron," said Dreadwing before heading to Jack's cell to get the former third in command.

'I will swallow my pride this one time Jack. If only out of respect for you and Optimus in being true to your word when it comes to important matters,' thought Megatron, as he had recalled the days when Orion Pax would see him, talk in debate with how things should be done on Cybertron, and how to effectively bring about a new successful Golden Age on their home planet.

While they did differ on various things, they had both been right at the same time, and just saw different paths to walk to reach the same goal. One was through open revolution with energon spilling into the streets of those willing to destroy the Caste system while the other wished for a peaceful change internally without the need for bloodshed, but at the risk of one corrupt official being replaced with another. There was no guarantee that Orion's plans for the future would work just like Megatron's own and it was only now did the Decepticon Warlord realize his wounded pride was the source of his actions shortly after the Council had nominated Orion to be the next Prime. The only reason the Council even wanted Orion to be the next Prime was most likely to keep their own positions while slightly manipulating their newly made Prime (once the Matrix of Leadership was found) into keeping some of their own chosen officials after clearing them of corruption charges.

In Megatron's mind, sometimes in order to bring about a new Golden Age of Peace...you needed a Dark Age of War to flush out all the bad blood.

_**"You asked for me Lord Megatron?"**_ asked Jack before kneeling on one knee to show he still respected the Decepticon Warlord.

"Yes Jack. I have thought over what you have told me regarding the Omega Keys and I have come to a decision regarding the offer to assist the Autobots in reviving our home planet back to its former glory," answered Megatron while looking down at the kneeling boy, who looked up at him, his eyes, and face filled with hope despite their last two talks.

_**"And?"**_ asked Jack hopefully, yet with a hint of worry in his voice.

"I have decided that to swallow my pride for this important crossroads of an event at this stage in the war," answered Megatron softly with a smile on his face that was neither vicious nor terrifying.

_**"That's great! That's wonderful! I just need to contact the Autobots to tell them the good news!"**_ exclaimed Jack happily before he looked down again and realized he had been a bit overzealous while Megatron let out a chuckle.

"There is no need to be ashamed Jack. While I felt the idea of siding with the Autobots was ludicrous, I see it was just like you said my boy, and my pride did stand in my way. I wish to give you and Optimus the benefit of the doubt if just this one time to see if the spirit of the two Primes from the original thirteen that stood before you will honor their side of the agreement," replied Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"I hope so too. When they do honor the agreement, I wish to be first to address you as Megatronus Prime,"**_ stated Jack and saw Megatron's optics widen slightly and yet their was warmth in them at the memory of giving himself that name before refocusing on the task at hand.

"Since you have been here for so long and our most recent skirmish with the Autobots, I have no doubt that Optimus along with his comrades believe your talks with me have failed. To counter this notion we will open a Ground Bridge for you at a neutral location, and then having you make contact with them," explained Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"I'm ready when you are...Father,"**_ answered Jack with a smile on his face and saw that Megatron was surprised to hear himself being called that.

Yet Jack could tell Megatron welcomed it all the same.

"Good to hear. Soundwave, open up the Ground Bridge to a secure location let Jack go make contact with the Autobots, and to calm their growing fear of what we do to him while on my Warship," commanded Megatron with Soundwave nodding before punching in coordinates and opened the Ground Bridge up.

_**"Thank you for giving this opportunity a chance Lord Megatron. It means the world to me,"**_ said Jack with Megatron nodding before looking over to see Soundwave produce something for Jack and handing it to the boy with one of his tentacle.

It was his sword.

"I'll be waiting to hear back from you soon my son," replied Megatron before Jack bowed humbly and then entered the Ground Bridge.

They were the first few steps in a new direction that would bring about new changes for both Autobots and Decepticons.

(A/N: YAY! I updated. Sorry it took so long. Been busy with so many things this past Month and they took priority over writing this and other fics. Hope this was worth the wait. Until next time...PEACE!)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11-The First Step

Jack did not expect the Autobots to trust him right away when he first made contact and he wasn't disappointed when they came through the Ground Bridge with blasters aimed at his form. Not that he blamed them since going to Megatron's Warship, not word on how things went for hours, being attacked by Decepticon forces using a death ray from space made by the leader of the M.E.C.H organization didn't exactly promote good faith from the Decepticons, or even from Jack for that matter. The fact Jack had called Megatron his Father and spoke of his former title as third in command of the Decepticon forces with a hint of pride in his voice didn't exactly make the teenager trustworthy to the Autobots.

_**"Is this really necessary?"**_ asked Jack with a hint of annoyance while his hands were raised and Ratchet was scanning him repeatedly while the others with the exception of Optimus has their blasters cannons at the ready to fire.

"Considering the Cons tried to fry us with Silas's new toy and now they bring you back to inform us that they agree to the terms? Absolutely!" answered Arcee with Jack letting out a sigh.

"Jack, why did Megatron agree to the truce, and assisting in finding the Omega Keys? asked Optimus with Jack turning to face the Prime.

_**"Honestly Optimus? I think I was able to reach him in a way no one else possibly could. I was able to understand him and his side while showing him yours. The main reason he started the war was particularly out of spite in being denied becoming a Prime. It wasn't like he wanted a war, its just with what happened with Sentinel Prime, and the Council naming Orion Pax to be the next Prime had left a wound in him that never healed. He felt betrayed that your former self Orion Pax never tried to protest the nomination after being mentored by Megatron. In fact, the Council only nominated Orion Pax to turn Megatron against that part of you, and they believed that any war created could successfully be put down when it started,"**_ answered Jack with Ratchet sputtering in protest.

"Absurd! It wasn't just the Council that thought Orion Pax was worthy of being a Prime, but Primus himself gave Optimus the Matrix of Leadership," countered Ratchet with Jack nodding.

_**"He did, but can you honestly say Megatron wasn't just as worthy before the war? He did want to change Cybertron for the better, remove the Caste System, which you can't deny was stupid to implement by Sentinel Prime, and the Council never once asked him to change it. I'm not saying the idea Orion Pax chose was wrong, but who can say his way was right? Just because management within Cybertron's governing body would change doesn't mean it wouldn't stay the same,"**_ replied Jack with Ratchet letting a grimace show on his face.

"It looks like Megatron mentored you well from the sounds of it," added Smokescreen with his cannon ready to fire.

_**"He did in a sense. Just like Optimus at one point in my life. Mentoring through actions,"**_ stated Jack with an unreadable expression on the Prime's face.

"Optimus will always be better then Megatron when it comes to mentoring," countered Smokescreen with Jack smiling.

_**"To each their own. However, the offer of the truce, and assisting you all in finding the Omega Keys to restore Cybertron to its former glory has been accepted. Surely none of you here are going to renege when the chance for healing is upon us?"**_ questioned Jack with the boy looking at each Autobot in front of him.

"I say we lock Jack in a cell and let Megatron worry about him for a change rather then us," said Bulkhead with Jack scoffing.

_**"You can't even hold onto Miko. What makes you think you can hold me if you tried Wrecker?"**_ replied Jack with Bulkhead looking livid.

"Say that again. I dare you," said Bulkhead in a threatening tone.

"_**And risk you wrecking something Ratchet might need?"**_ questioned Jack with a hint of mocking in his tone while Bulkhead's temper getting dangerously thin.

"Enough! Both of you. Stand down Bulkhead," ordered Optimus with the Wrecker letting out a growl.

"I still owe you a wrecking ball to your face for pointing that sword of yours at Miko on Megatron's Warship," stated Bulkhead while Jack just grinned at him.

_**"Anytime. Anywhere. Any **__**place**__**,"**_ replied Jack with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes.

"Can we focus on the main topic here and not this ball bearing measurement contest you two have started," stated Ratchet with Jack shrugging.

_**"Like I said, Megatron wants to make a truce with you guys, and bring Cybertron back to its former glory. He's willing to swallow his pride and do what is right for Cybertron as a whole rather then himself,"**_ answered Jack with Optimus nodding.

"We would need to communicate with him openly to further participate in this mission," said Optimus with Jack nodding.

"As in contacting the _Nemesis_ from here and possibly have Soundwave trace the signal to our base?" questioned Arcee with Jack shrugging.

_**"Either here or some other location. It doesn't matter to me since I could have easily told Megatron the location of this base when I was there. Fortunately for you guys, I want this war to end and bring your home planet back from the destructive mess I saw when I was there with Arcee,"**_ stated Jack with the others silently agreeing that was true.

"What's your point?" asked Miko with Jack giving her a small glare.

_**"The **__**point**__** is, you have to contact Megatron somehow, and I can do that if you want since he is waiting. Though I'm guessing it would be someplace away from here,"**_ replied Jack with the others looking at Optimus and he was reluctantly agreeing to it.

Even if he wanted to embrace the truce in unquestionable belief that it was genuine on Megatron's part, Optimus would be a naive fool to do so, and the Prime had to handle this with caution.

"We will go to a neutral location and make contact with Megatron," stated Optimus with Jack smirking.

_**"You won't regret it Optimus,"**_ replied Jack while his heart soared at hearing the Autobot Leader was making sure this happened.

"He better not regret it. For _your sake_ fleshy," added Smokescreen with Jack scowling at the newest recruit.

_**"No one asked you newbie! Besides, shouldn't you be washing all the energon tanks or something?"**_ questioned Jack harshly with Smokescreen glaring at him and it almost seemed like the Autobot was ready to fire his weapon.

"Stop it! Both of you. Ratchet, ready the Ground Bridge for a suitable location. I will meet with Megatron and we will discuss what needs to be done," commanded Optimus with Ratchet walking over to the Ground Bridge.

"Then let one of us come with you! In the event its a setup and _HE_ turns on you," replied Bulkhead while glaring at Jack.

"No Bulkhead. I trust Jack. He will not betray us. It was because of him that we even learned about the Omega Keys in the first place. This meeting will only Involve Jack, Megatron, and myself," replied Optimus with the others looking shocked by this.

"And if it is a trap?" questioned Smokescreen with Jack scoffing.

"Communication here will still be open. If there is any danger, you know what to do," answered Optimus before looking at Jack and seeing the boy's face become saddened.

_**"Let's get this show on the road,"**_ muttered Jack before walking to the Ground Bridge now being opened and walked through it without looking back.

"I think the Boss Man hit a wire," remarked Wheeljack.

"Its nerve Wheeljack. Hit a nerve," added Raf with the Autobot Wrecker shrugging.

"Close enough," remarked Wheeljack.

"The kid deserved it. Hope it hurt," added Bulkhead before he heard a hissing sound behind him and turned to see an angry Airachnid punch him right in the face.

"Just as I hope _THAT_ hurt," stated Airachnid while hearing the hum of blasters being activated and aimed at her.

"So you've shown your true colors Airachnid," stated Arcee with Airachnid letting out a chuckle before she wobbled using her spidery legs to the side for support since she was very much pregnant and it took a lot of effort to get to the main area of this room without being heard.

"You give me too much credit Arcee. I only punched that big metal fool for insulting my Jack. As to why I came out here, it was to wish him well since I sensed his return, and have some alone time. Now I find he's gone and you are all enjoying whatever it is that happened at his expense. Honestly Arcee, if you were true to your former partnership with Jack, you would have punched that oaf in my place. But then again, you never were keen on being partnered with Jack from the start," answered Airachnid while sitting down on a nearby berth and let out a tired grown.

"Like you would have in my place? You would have taken his head as a trophy the first day he met you," countered Arcee with Airachnid smirking.

"Guilty as charged on that count. I won't deny it. But I also won't deny that was probably for the best since I now have all I'll ever want because of my Jack," replied Airachnid before she let out a small giggle and it only made Arcee angrier.

"What hit me?" asked Bulkhead before trying to stand with Ratchet's help.

"An angry pregnant Decepticon femme," answered Ratchet with Bulkhead's optics now refocusing and saw Airachnid there in all her pregnant glory before he let out a growl.

"And why are you here? Go back to your room!" exclaimed Bulkhead with Airachnid smirking at him.

"And miss out on Jack's return again? I think not! Jack has done what no one else has done before today and I'm not missing out on seeing him again when he walks back through that Ground Bridge. You don't like it? Tough scrap!" answered Airachnid with Bulkhead gritting his metallic teeth.

"I'll give you tough scrap," mumbled Bulkhead angrily before toward Airachnid, but was restrained by Ratchet, and saw the look the Medic was giving him.

"Enough Bulkhead. Now is not the time to do this," stated Ratchet while Airachnid was adjusting further into her seat.

"So she gets a free shot at me and I'm suppose to just take it?" questioned Bulkhead while Ratchet letting out a sigh.

"Considering her condition Bulkhead, I would strong recommend neither side takes a free shot at the other, and just calm down. Airachnid's entire situation is new to us and there is no telling what complications could arise if provoked into a physical confrontation. That goes for _her_ too, which is _why_ I have been stressing the fact that _no one_ does _anything_ to cause it to decline," answered Ratchet with everyone looking away while Airachnid just ignored him and just stared at the ceiling in wait.

"So this whole thing with Airachnid being pregnant with Jack's kids has never happened before in the history of Cybertron? Not once?!" questioned Miko with Ratchet nodding while ignoring the frown on Arcee's face.

"Never. You have to understand Miko, when it comes to life being made on Cybertron, we do not reproduce like humans do, or any other organic species for that matter. We are born from the Well of All Sparks, made possible through Primus, and the Thirteen Primes shortly after Unicron was expelled into space. The idea of our species doing exactly what Airachnid and Jack have done has been _unheard of_ in any possible form. In fact, I am almost curious as to what possessed Airachnid to even do what she did, and if it was her actual intention all along when Jack was on Megatron's Warship," answered Ratchet with Airachnid smirking and Arcee scowling increased.

"That's for me to know and you to _never _find out," replied Airachnid while she enjoyed Arcee's angry face getting angrier.

"I still can't believe she even wanted to do something like _that_ with a human," remarked Smokescreen before tensing when hearing the sound of Airachnid hissing at him.

"Watch it Autobot. I can still bite," threatened Airachnid with venom dripping from her mouth.

"Enough! Please! Airachnid, I know you dislike everyone here, some more then others, but as your current physician in this matter, I _must_ insist you keep your temper in check, and not threaten everyone around you for every remark made that directly or indirectly connects to Jack in this matter," stated Ratchet while Airachnid hissed a little more at him before she restrained herself.

"Perhaps if certain Autobots didn't speak ill of my Jack, I wouldn't have to get so angry, and feel the need to eviscerate everyone here," answered Airachnid while putting a hand on her belly and smiled at it.

"I'm going for a drive. Watch her," said Arcee finally, as she couldn't stand being near her nemesis, and needed to get clear of the Spider Bot before all sense of showing restraint was shattered.

(With Jack and Optimus)

_**"They're heading this way. Megatron and Dreadwing for support,"**_ stated Jack with Optimus nodding while waiting for the two Decepticons to arrive.

"Dreadwing is no doubt coming to provide support," replied Optimus with Jack nodding.

_**"He wants this to happen Optimus. The idea of Cybertron being restored and its people being whole again is something too good to ignore,"**_ replied Jack while Optimus nodded again.

"I have long wished for this war to end Jack. The very idea of slaying more of my people, whether they be Autobot, or Decepticon has always played heavy on my Spark. So many have perished in the war, so many different things could have been done, and yet we were so blinded by the fighting that all options before us were ignored," said Optimus with his voice having a heavy feel to it.

_**"Nobody is perfect Optimus. Not even a Prime. We have to learn from our mistakes. Sometimes we have to make mistakes in order to learn how to fix others,"**_ replied Jack with Optimus smiling at the boy.

"Words worthy of a Prime," stated Optimus with Jack shrugging before they turned their attention to the sky and heard the sound of engines in the air that belonged to their guests to this meeting.

The two Decepticons circled around Optimus and Jack twice before they landed opposite of them with Dreadwing eyeing Optimus carefully yet hopefully. Megatron however, was focusing on Jack, hearing the boy's words regarding Optimus wishing to meet, and talk about what the truce with the Autobots. The Decepticon Warlord smiled at the sight of his surrogate son, waiting for him, and Optimus to each take the needed steps forward to this historic moment.

And the two leaders of opposing sides did just that.

"When was the last time we met like this in a civilized manner?" asked Megatron while seeing Optimus think for a moment over the possible place and time.

"The last time we talked like this was briefly on how we could possibly defeat Unicron by combining our respected powers," answered Optimus with Megatron nodding.

"So much has happened since that moment. From entering this planet's core, putting the Bringer of Chaos back into stasis, and the loss of your memories as a result of it," said Megatron with Optimus nodding.

"And the regaining of those memories thanks to a clever human boy I entrusted the secret mission to before my departure," added Optimus before looking back in Jack's direction with the boy smiling.

"A dangerous gamble Optimus, but an ingenious one at that," declared Megatron since he never suspected Optimus would have the Key to Vector Sigma or that he gave it to the boy.

"One I knew deep down would pay off when the time came. The boy has matured beyond his human years," added Optimus with Megatron nodding.

"Yes. The boy is indeed something special," said Megatron in agreement and saw Jack's smile increase at the praise by the two.

"I take it you understand the significance of this truce and the overall benefits it grants us Megatron?" questioned Optimus with Megatron nodding.

"Jack explained it to me from the beginning. I will admit, the idea of reviving Cybertron myself without you, and the Autobots was the first thing that came to my mind when this information was brought to me," answered Megatron with Optimus frowning at that.

"What changed your mind?" asked Optimus and saw Megatron look behind him to the boy once more.

"Not what Optimus, but rather _who_ changed my mind," answered Megatron with Jack now walking over to them.

_**"I made a compelling argument. Nothing more,"**_ replied Jack with Megatron smirking at him.

"That and Cylas decided to grace us with his presence on board my ship in the belief he was worthy of being my equal while wearing Breakdown's body," added Megatron with Optimus deciding to keep quiet about the leader of the M.E.C.H. organization.

_**"I take it the man got everything that was coming to him?" **_asked Jack with Megatron smirking.

"From a certain point of view, you could say Cylas got his seat at the table. Just like he always wanted and asked for when first arriving on my Warship," answered Megatron with Jack letting out a chuckle.

_**"I'm sure it was everything he ever hoped it would be when given his reward for his services rendered,"**_ remarked Jack with Megatron letting out a laugh.

"You could say that. But enough about such things, as we have to discuss the importance regarding the restoration of our world, and unifying together to make it happen. I am in current possession of the entire Iakon database, but I lack a skilled Archivist like Orion Pax, or rather that of the Prime who was once Orion Pax. Soundwave has done a fair job so far given his own skill in decryption, but while he is skilled in that field, it pales when compared to an Iakon Archivist like Orion Pax was before the war, and only a Archivist can decipher the Iakon records needed to find the Omega Keys," replied Megatron with Optimus nodding.

"The only way for me to do that would be to decipher the records on your Warship since you possess the entire database," added Optimus with Jack nodding.

_"Absolutely not! If Megatron truly wished to embrace this truce, he could easily send us a copy of the entire Iakon database for us to decipher here, and work from their own end on the Warship,"_spoke Ratchet through the communication system at the Omega One Outpost.

"I take it your Medic dislikes the idea. I understand. Optimus, you must realize that only by combining our resources together can we find the Omega Keys, and bring about the restoration of our planet. Only with the technology of our people and your skills from the past life that is Orion Pax can we hope to unlock the Omega Keys faster then either of us alone. Judging from what I saw when I was inside your base for a short time, you rely on _human_ technology, and decoding something like the Iakon database there with it would be time well _wasted_," stated Megatron with Optimus reluctantly nodding.

_**"Ratchet has often complained about it being substandard tech he's had to work with,"**_ added Jack while just imagining the Autobot Medic sputtering.

_"I certainly do not! Well...not as much as I use to anyway thanks to Raf's assistance in fixing the glitches we normally we've had,"_ protested Ratchet though it was clear he was trying to make it sound less like a lie.

And no doubt some of the occupants back at the Autobot base were most likely giving him a deadpanned look.

"You are asking me to trust you knowing that once I'm on board your ship, I could be surrounded, and destroyed at any moment," said Optimus with Megatron smirking at the Prime.

"True, but like I told Jack before I sent him on his way to make contact with you Prime, I am willing to swallow my pride this one time, and such an opportunity for an actual truce is too great to ignore at this point," countered Megatron with Optimus being quiet for a moment, but looked over at Jack, and saw the boy had walked over to Warlord before turning to face the Prime.

_**"Even if you say no to going to the Nemesis to decrypt the Iakon database, I will go in your place, and help them anyway I can in finding those Omega Keys,"**_ stated Jack with Optimus looking at the boy in shock.

"Jack," was the only thing Optimus could say to him.

_**"Megatron wants to change Optimus. I can see it. I can **__**feel**__** it. I'm going to see to it the change stays and the dreams of everyone on both sides of this war are fulfilled. If it means I have to stay with Megatron? Then that's how it has to happen," **_replied Jack with Optimus before he turned to Megatron and humbly kneeled before the Decepticon Leader.

"Rise my Ripper. You no longer have to kneel like a subordinate under my command. No son of mine kneels before me when he is my equal," stated Megatron while picking the boy up gently and putting him on his spiky armored shoulder.

"Jack, do you truly believe that I can trust Megatron to do what is right, and join him on his Warship to decode the Iakon database? That this isn't another trick on his part to lure me to my doom?" questioned Optimus with Jack nodding.

_**"Optimus, I wouldn't be doing this unless I believed in him without a doubt,"**_ answered Jack with Optimus staring at him for a moment before nodding.

"Then I will join you as well," answered Optimus with Jack smiling at the news.

_"Optimus, you can't be serious?! Its madness!"_ protested Ratchet.

"If I don't trust them now Ratchet...when can I ever?" asked Optimus with his old friend going silent in response.

"Soundwave, open up the Ground Bridge to my Warship. We have guests," commanded Megatron with the portal of light and energy appearing behind Dreadwing.

"After you my old friend," offered Optimus with Megatron smirking at him before they both entered the Ground Bridge and Dreadwing entering last behind the Prime.

(Autobot Base Omega One)

Ratchet sighed in defeat knowing there was no way to turn Optimus away from this move and the others in the room looked at one another in shock with the exception of Airachnid since she was thinking about how Arcee would react after returning from her drive. Not surprising since Arcee would blow a gasket hearing both Optimus and Jack were now on board Megatron's Warship. It would drive her insane, the risk of it being a trap would be too high in the blue femme's mind, and the risk of those she cared about possibly dying by Megatron's hands driving the Spider Bot's nemesis to the point of putting a blaster to her head and blowing her processor out.

"So uh...who wants to tell Arcee the news when she gets back?" asked Bulkhead with everyone looking at each other before they pointed back at him.

'I think I'll play it safe this one time and _NOT_ antagonize Arcee,' thought Airachnid with her smile slowly increasing while Bulkhead protested.

"Me? Why me?" asked Bulkhead since it was clear he wasn't expecting this.

"You can take the hit big guy. Besides...its only your aft. You'll live to see another day after Arcee gets through with you...sort of," answered Wheeljack with Bulkhead letting out a Ratchet like sigh.

"Oh scrap," mumbled Bulkhead knowing this was some form of what human's called karma biting him in the aft for picking a fight with Jack.

The punch from Airachnid was clearly just the prelude to it.

(A/N: YAY! I updated. Thought I could squeeze this in before the big rush comes from College and I can't update anything for weeks on end and it drives you nuts. Hope this will tide you over for now. I want to eventually finish this fic and get back to my other works. Also, see Rise of the Predacons by Forsaken Darklost. If you don't...then you are a jerk. Sorry for the insult, but its a good fic, and you are a jerk for not reading it. If you have read it, then you are not a jerk, and I thank you for reading it since we all know the fic rocks! Until next time...PEACE!)


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12-Silencing the Screamer

Jack smiled while seeing Optimus working diligently on the Decepticon terminal on the Warship, as the Prime was decoding the Iakon database on his end, and Soundwave was working on another section at the same time. Jack had suggested it to speed up the find for the Omega Keys and any other artifacts that may be buried deep in the planet that could be worth retrieving. So the two began working quickly on the Iakon database post haste, the desire to find the location of the Omega Keys being crucial to the restoration of Cybertron to its former glory.

"Even with Optimus working to decode the Iakon database, it will take some time before we can successfully locate a relic, or one of the Omega Keys," stated Megatron to the boy while thinking over what to do next.

_**"We have the time Lord Megatron. The Iakon database is heavily encrypted to protect the location of the relics located on this planet. I am confident both Soundwave and Optimus can get the job done. All we can do is watch, wait, and be patient"**_ replied Jack with the Leader of the Decepticons nodding.

"That is true, but being patient was never what you call one of my...stronger qualities my boy," countered Megatron with Jack smirking slightly.

_**"So we just have to do something to keep that impatience at bay,"**_ replied Jack with Megatron smirking further.

"And what did you have in mind exactly?" asked Megatron with Jack shrugging with his face becoming more serious.

_**"I think we should focus on the last remaining obstacle that needs to be addressed that was your former SIC,"**_ suggested Jack with Megatron growling in anger.

"Starscream," replied Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"He is a wild card now. Not to mention the Apex Armor is in his possession and is not to be underestimated with it,"**_ said Jack with Megaton nodding.

"Dreadwing said as much. If we knew where Starscream was located, we could handle the situation, and remove the possible threat he possesses if that fool somehow learns of the Omega Keys," stated Megatron with Jack thinking on how to proceed in finding the rogue Decepticon.

_**"Starscream is most likely masking his energon signal in a location where your ship can't locate him. Even if he went into an energon mine, the chances of him still being discovered are high so that leaves a few secret locations where he might hide, and yet keep an eye on the ship's movements," **_said Jack with Megatron thinking over such locations.

"Such locations are rare indeed. I always preferred a moving main base of operations to ensure we could never be tracked. The fact Starscream showed up during Dreadwing's search for the Iakon relic means he is using Decepticon technology to track my ship and following our movements," added Megatron in thought.

_**"Are there any bases on the ground that have the ability to do that?"**_ questioned Jack with Megatron shaking his head no.

"I have no ground bases on the planet. Merely energon mining operation and none of them possess the tech needed to track this ship," answered Megatron before the footsteps of Soundwave caught their attention and they turned to face the faceless Decepticon.

_The Harbinger_

"The destroyed warship? But it was split in two during a battle with the Autobots ages ago," stated Megatron with Soundwave nodding.

_**"Makes sense. There must be a section of it with power still running and has a signal locked on to this ship to monitor its movements,"**_ remarked Jack with Megatron nodding in agreement while seething inside.

"That would explain how Starscream made clones of himself. There was a hidden lab on the ship filled with protoforms," replied Megatron with Jack scowling.

_**"Soundwave, do you know the coordinates for that section of the downed Warship?"**_ asked Jack before Soundwave nodded and showed the coordinates on his face where Airachnid had told Megatron in her report where that half of the ship was located.

"Good. We must approach this carefully due to _The_ _Harbinger_ being locked onto us and Starscream possessing the Apex Armor. If we have the ship head for these coordinates, the foolish traitor will suspect we know his location, and try to flee from the area. If we send troops via Ground Bridge, Starscream with use the Apex Armor to destroy them," stated Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"Then we must go about this another way,"**_ replied Jack with Megatron looking at him with mild curiosity and interest.

"In what way Jack?" asked Megatron while seeing Jack think over the plan in his head.

_**"The Nemesis should get close to the downed half to the Harbinger without making Starscream become fearful enough to flee. At the same time, if we could get troops to sneak into the base, and somehow retrieve the Apex Armor before Starscream can use it...we can stop him from causing harm to others or at best...we could terminate him,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron nodding.

"A solid plan Jack. Though it would require a team extremely skilled in stealth," stated Megatron with Jack nodding in agreement.

_**"Yes. We would need to form one using both Autobots and Decepticons that specialize in that field. Not to mention have the firepower to hold off Starscream should the main objective of stealing the Apex Armor results in failure," **_replied Jack with Megatron nodding.

"Airachnid is out. She has gone rogue," said Megatron with Jack looking uneasy for a few seconds.

_**"Not exactly. She's currently residing within the Autobot base,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron looking at him in surprise.

"For how long?" questioned Megatron with Jack shrugging.

_**"I believe Airachnid was taken there after she sent the Insecticons after you and the Autobots knocked her out so the control she had was lost,"**_ answered Jack knowing that was what happened with Megatron letting out a growl.

"What Jack says is true Megatron. Airachnid is currently residing within our base under close observation, but even if she wasn't, she is not fit for duty in infiltrating the Warship, and stealing the Apex Armor," said Optimus, as he walked over to them, and added his own input into the conversation.

"And in what way is she unfit for such a mission?" questioned Megatron, as he looked from Optimus to Jack, and then back to the Prime.

_**"She is unfit for this mission because Airachnid is currently...caring my children,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron looking at him in shock and even Soundwave stiffened at this news to indicate that this was ground breaking news.

"How is this possible?!" demanded Megatron before Jack told him about his "alone time" with Airachnid, how she used the combination of various technology to make their time together possible, and the techno-organic Nanomachines in the boy's body being the final catalyst to bring it all together.

"We were just as surprised by this when Airachnid told us Megatron. Though I do believe she only told us at the time to prevent Arcee from killing her," answered Optimus with Megatron processing this information though he did feel the strong impulse to find the Spider Bot if only for a moment.

"Very well. Soundwave is needed here with Optimus so I cannot employ him on this stealth mission," replied Megatron making Jack frown in thought.

_**"We can use Arcee and Bumblebee from Team Prime. They know how to sneak in and stay quiet when it counts,"**_ said Jack with Megatron nodding though it was an Autobot only team and needed at least one Decepticon to join them.

A competent one at that.

"Allow me to join this group for the mission Lord Megatron. In the spirit of cooperation with the Autobots," offered Dreadwing with Optimus, Jack, Soundwave, and Megatron looking at him.

_**"No offense Dreadwing, but your size doesn't exactly promote stealth,"**_ said Jack since the Decepticon SIC was more of a hard hitting in your face warrior.

"But it does promote firepower. If the mission fails, the team will need someone capable of stalling Starscream long enough for them to escape, and possibly damage the systems within the damaged Warship to be used against him," countered Dreadwing with the two leaders of opposite sides looking at each other.

"Do you concur with that Optimus?" asked Megatron with Optimus nodding.

"Dreadwing and I have fought Starscream when he used the Apex Armor. The experience in that battle will prove useful in using it against Starscream should the mission to steal the Iakon relic be a failure. He is also loyal and honorable to those that fight beside him in battle," answered Optimus with Megatron nodding in agreement.

_**"I also volunteer for the mission,"**_ said Jack with all optics now focused on him.

"Are you sure Jack?" asked Optimus with Jack nodding.

_**"I'm small. Barely noticeable to the eyes of giants like yourselves. Starscream won't see or be expecting me there. The sight of Dreadwing, Arcee, and Bumblebee with automatically make him reach for the Apex Armor he most likely has on him at all times. The moment that happens, I'll slice his arm at the elbow clean off, and make him relinquish it. Besides, my presence will help Arcee, and Bumblebee more receptive to working with Dreadwing,"**_ replied Jack with the others nodding.

"Once that happens, Starscream will no doubt wish to surrender on account of losing his T-Cog to M.E.C.H. a short time ago," added Optimus with Megatron looking shocked by this news.

"Very well. Optimus, please alert your two subordinates of this mission, and to meet with Dreadwing at a neutral location to be properly informed of the plan," said Megatron with the Prime nodding and moving to inform the other Autobots at the base using the very same high frequency system used ironically by Starscream in the past.

_**"Father, I wish to apologize,"**_ stated Jack humbly when Optimus was out of hearing range.

"For what Ripper?" questioned Megatron while looking at the boy.

_**"For keeping Airachnid's location a secret from you. For not telling you sooner of her condition when I knew deep down that you could be trusted. Its just...I feared if I had told you...I would have betrayed Airachnid's trust in this delicate matter. I honestly do care about her and the lives she carries within her body,"**_ answered Jack with Megatron nodding slightly in understanding the reason.

"You were protecting your legacy my boy. There is no need to apologize for it," replied Megatron with Jack bowing his head even further.

_**"Thank you Father,"**_ said Jack before he jumped off of Megatron's shoulder and landed in Dreadwing's expecting hand.

"Make sure nothing happens to him Dreadwing," commanded Megatron with Dreadwing nodding at the order.

"No harm shall come to Jack in any shape or form Lord Megatron. I swear on my Spark that he will come back alive," replied Dreadwing firmly.

"I have informed the others of what is going to happen. They will meet me Dreadwing and Jack at the set of coordinates I have asked Soundwave to send them via the Ground Bridge near _The Harbinger_," said Optimus with Megatron nodding since bridging into the downed Warship was not possible due to parts of it being buried into the ground.

"Go," ordered Megatron to Dreadwing and Jack with both bowing before they entered the Ground Bridge that Soundwave made for them.

"I will return to my search for the coordinate to the Omega Keys hidden within the Iakon database," replied Optimus before returning to his work.

(With Jack and Dreadwing)

_**"Hey guys!"**_ exclaimed Jack happily while Bumblebee gave a few beeps that could only be a happy "Hello!" back while Arcee looked skeptical.

"So what's this mission exactly you need our help with?" asked Arcee while wanting to get down to business right away and not be in the presence of the Decepticon staring at her.

"We have been all charged by our respected leaders to go after the traitor Starscream and retrieve the Apex Armor from his possession. We believe his location is not far from here where half of _The Harbinger_ is located and is using it to monitor our Warship," answered Dreadwing with Arcee's optics widening and so did Bumblebee's own.

_"How do you know he's there?"_questioned Bumblebee while Arcee wanted to know that too.

_**"Megatron and I were talking about where he could be hiding. This place is the only one that makes sense where he could hide and monitor Megatron safely. It was how he learned of the Dreadwing being sent to find to relic located in the Arctic,"**_ answered Jack with Arcee looking like she had been hit with a unseen fist to the face at hearing how her long time hated enemy was chatting with her former partner on this matter.

"Starscream has much to answer for on many levels. One being his attempt to manipulate my twin. Another would be his attempt to kill Lord Megatron on multiple occasions. If we are to achieve the lasting peace between our sides, Starscream must not learn of the Omega Keys, and must be removed from in his entirety," added Dreadwing with Arcee and Bumblebee looking shocked by what he meant by this.

"You mean snuffing out his Spark. Optimus would never agree to that," replied Arcee with Dreadwing being silent for a moment.

_**"You underestimate Optimus on this matter Arcee. He knows just as Megatron does that Starscream will never allow peace to happen between Autobots and Decepticons. He has the Apex Armor and is most likely getting intrigued by the various actions our sides have been doing since his departure from the Decepticon ranks. If he finds the Omega Keys, he'll hold them ransom, or even worse...go so far as destroy them out of spite for all of us,"**_ replied Jack with Dreadwing nodding in agreement.

_"You don't really think Starscream would be stupid enough to destroy the only chance to restore Cybertron, right?"_ questioned Bumblebee with Jack now looking him right in the optics.

_**"Not only do I think he will. I know and believe he will do it. Starscream is spiteful and will do anything to see others suffer while not comprehending the ramifications of his own actions. The fool has no tact,"**_ answered Jack with Dreadwing nodding he had seen Starscream act in a manner that told you the former SIC couldn't be trusted by anyone.

"Fine. So what is the plan exactly?" asked Arcee with Jack explaining how it was stealth based with Dreadwing providing the heavy firepower needed to keep Starscream down to cover their escape should the overall plan fail.

"This mission will rely heavily on the element of surprise from all four of us if we are to prevent Starscream from using the Apex Armor when confronting him. At best, we can have him restrained before he can use it," stated Dreadwing knowing the best scenario where Starscream was taken down before he even knew what hit him would be the best bet of coming out of this victorious.

"Jack, Bee, and I can do that no problem. _You_ will have to watch our afts from behind while we get close to Starscream. I can't say I'm happy about it," replied Arcee with Dreadwing frowning slightly, but he did understand her feelings since there was well over a thousand years of bad energon between their chosen sides, and trusting the side you've been fighting for so long wasn't something that could easily be accepted when given.

"I will do what Lord Megatron has asked of me. Optimus Prime trusts me to work with you. Surely that is enough?" questioned Dreadwing with Arcee looking at Bumblebee with both nodding.

"For now," replied Arcee before she looked at Jack for a second and then turned around to walk toward the ship not that far from their position.

'So bitter. Even if there is peace, I doubt Arcee will ever lower her guard around any of the Decepticons, or even me for that matter. She looks at me with mistrust now,' thought Jack sadly with all that's happened between them.

While the group silently made their way to the downed remains of the once impressive Decepticon Warship, they looked around for any sign of Starscream in the event he had left it for a chance to stretch his servos, or possibly explore the area. Though it seemed unlikely since Starscream would want to keep his energon signature hidden from either side looking for him. Chances are, the former SIC of the Decepticons was inside the Warship, planning something despite being low on resources, and means to execute any plan whatsoever. Still, until they got him in restraints, or snuffed out his Spark they were _not_ going to underestimate the screaming prone Con.

"Look there. At the top section of the ship sticking out. That is our entry point. I don't know if the ships sensors will detect us, but move quickly, and quietly inside," whispered Dreadwing with the Autobots with him nodding with the yellow black muscle car for a scout going in first.

"Keep quiet unless you have to Bee. Your way of talking echoes inside a place like this," whispered Arcee with the Scout nodding since that was true.

"I will wait here until needed. The sound of my footsteps in here will no doubt alert our target of my arrival and yours," whispered Dreadwing while Arcee narrowed her optics at him.

'Yeah and I'm sure the golden opportunity to blow us all up with proximity mines didn't run across your processor,' thought Arcee, as she moved stealthily down the hallway with Bumblebee behind her, and Jack not that far off behind the two Autobots.

_**"I'll go this way. You two go that way. Strike Starscream when his back is turned. Do not announce yourself before telling him to surrender. He'll reach for the Apex Armor and use it before a clean shot can be fired. Tackle him to the ground if possible and hold the fool down to be cuffed," **_ordered Jack with Arcee and Bumblebee nodding before the slowly walked through the hallway of the damaged warship in one direction while the enhance boy went the other way.

Making his way down the hallway on his end, Jack made two rights, and a left before he saw lights on near a room clearly meant to be kept secret. Inside the room, he heard the complaints of Starscream about how he needed to get his clone's T-Cog inside his body, and wished he had a trusted medic perform the procedure.

"This shouldn't be too hard. I just cut myself open and...and insert the T-Cog and...hope for the best!" exclaimed Starscream nervously while holding the golden item in one hand with the other hand holding a surgical tool of Cybertonian design.

_**"Arcee. Bumblebee. Dreadwing. I've found Starscream. Go down the hallway I went down, make two rights, and a left to reach me. Walk slowly and silently. The element of surprise is crucial here. Have your weapons prepped before hand to keep the noise to a minimum," **_replied Jack into his communication receiver attached to his ear.

Sure enough, the three made their way to him with Jack motioning with a finger to his lips for them to be quiet, and then motioned them to come forward until they were right behind him. They peered around the corner where the secret door to the lab was located and saw Starscream with his back turned with his mind trying to figure out how to get his T-Cog properly placed inside his body. Silently pointing to Arcee, he commanded her to quickly move to the other side of the door with her arm blades ready, and then told them to wait while he snuck inside the room due to the advantage that was his size.

"On the one hand, doing this myself should be pretty straightforward, but the pain might be too much, and I pass out with the risk of the incomplete surgery being my undoing. Its times like this I wish Knock Out or even that grouchy Autobot Ratchet was here to do this for me. Maybe when I eventually kill Optimus and Megatron after pitting the two against each other...," remarked Starscream to himself though he didn't finish his sentence due to staring at his T-Cog.

Below him, unseen by the rogue Decepticon's red optics, Jack had made his way to the shadows of the room below the table where Starscream was now leaning over with his T-Cog in hand, and it was clear from the growl that the former SIC was frustrated with his lack of options. The two Autobots, plus one Deception watched patiently for Jack to give the signal for them to move in, and sure enough when Starscream walked away from the table to the nearby terminal with his back to all of them was it given. Arcee moved in first, as she was the slimmest, and quietest of the group while moving behind a two boxes filled with scraps so her position would keep her hidden. The Apex Armor was across the room, away from the former SIC, and it was clear to all of them that they didn't need to worry about the rogue Decepticon getting his servos on it. With that in mind, Bumblebee with Dreadwing followed with the Deception wielding two blasters, one in each hand rather then the large two handed cannon he was known wield due to the close quarters of the room, and the Scout having his blaster hands at the ready.

"Surrender Starscream. By order of Lord Megatron and that of Optimus Prime...you are coming with us to face judgment for your treachery to both sides!" declared Dreadwing with Starscream looking shocked at not only being found, but that both the Autobots, _and_ Decepticons were working together to take him down.

It was almost flattering when he thought about it.

Almost.

"W-What? How did you find me?!" asked Starscream while looking around the room for the Apex Armor and saw it was out of his reach.

"Irrelevant. Surrender quietly and perhaps Megatron can be persuaded to letting you live to face a trial for your treachery rather then a quick execution," answered Dreadwing while Bumblebee moved to right to keep themselves from being hit by friendly fire.

"As if I would go back to face Megatron's wrath much less be judged by a Prime! Its bad enough I have to be here in this manner rather then the rank you _stole_ from me, but to be caught by both sides of this war, and treated like some lowly worm is unacceptable! To think Megatron and Optimus Prime are working together in this fashion to take me down is almost as bad as much own actions in siding with those humans that took _his_ T-Cog and then mine after our..._fight_," replied Starscream with Bumblebee's optics narrowing.

"Be mindful of what you say about either of them Starscream or I will ensure those words are indeed your last," threatened Dreadwing with Starscream snarling at him.

"Why Megatron made you his Second-in-Command after Airachnid went rogue is quite beyond me since you have too much respect for Optimus Prime. Just like how my former Master made that _filthy human_ named Jack his Third-in-Command just proves Megatron is unfit to lead the Decepticons," said Starscream with Dreadwing's face contorting with rage.

"That human makes a far better subordinate then you ever were to Lord Megatron. Jack has earned my respect and the respect of Lord Megatron himself. Something not so easily achieved. Something you know nothing about," replied Dreadwing with Starscream now gritting his metallic teeth in anger.

"How dare you say that to me! I have more skill in leading the Decepticons in two of my fingers then that human does in his entire organic body! Perhaps when I snap him in two with said fingers like I did the Autobot Cliffjumper, you'll think differently, and give me the respect I deserve!" exclaimed Starscream, but before anything could be spoken on the matter, Arcee leaped from her hidden position, a war cry of rage echoing throughout the room, and her intent to take the rogue Decepticon being clear.

As expected, Starscream lived up to his name, screaming loudly in fright that you could swear upon the all Spark that other stars heard him, and saw him barely dodging the very angry Autobot's attacks. He was trying to get her to calm down, pleading for her to stop, and crying out in pain when her blades nicked him in various places.

"You'll pay for killing Cliffjumper!" exclaimed Arcee furiously, as she landed a punch to his face, and followed it up with a spin kick that sent the rogue Decepticon flying.

Unfortunately, due to where Starscream was standing when hit, and the force behind the second blow...it sent him within reach of the Apex Armor.

"It will be a cold day in the Pit before I pay for my _supposed_ crimes against you _Arcee_ or anyone else on either side of the war. I am Starscream. The greatest Decepticon to ever live!" exclaimed Starscream, as he grabbed the Apex Armor, and moved to put it on.

Before Jack appeared on his right hand where on the wrist and severed the hand holding the Apex Armor with Starscream now screaming out in pain before grabbing Jack with his remaining hand. Jack in turn stabbed the hand holding him and was rewarded with his enemy dropping him onto the ground, but the rogue Decepticon kicked him hard into a wall.

_**"That hurt like a bitch, but it totally worth it just to see Starscream live up to his name, and in need of a hand,"**_ remarked Jack before spitting out some blood while getting off the ground and saw the former Decepticon SIC being blasted on all sides by the other three in the group.

"You wretched creature! I'll see your nothing more then organic paste before I meet my end!" bellowed Starscream while finding himself without his right hand and the other too damaged to properly grab the Apex Armor off the ground.

Raising his damaged right arm, he targeted Jack, ignoring the blasts of energon hitting his metallic Cybertronian frame, and fired one of his missile at the boy.

"Jack! Move!" exclaimed Arcee, as she saw the missile heading right for him, and no one could move fast enough to block it.

_**"Oh scrap,"**_ remarked Jack to himself, as he ran, and jumped away from the missile with the explosion sending him flying.

Clutching his right side, Jack ignored his injuries, and the missile shrapnel imbedded in his side to see Starscream being blasted to pieces until he was lying on the ground leaking energon from his body. The rogue Decepticon began screaming out, begging for mercy with what he could get out of his mouth, but it was ignored from the sound of the blaster fire raining down upon him, and was soon over with the former SIC of the Decepticons being killed by the groups combined efforts before they stopped firing.

"Farwell Starscream. May you forever burn in the Pit for the betrayals you've committed to both sides of the war," said Dreadwing, as he stood over Starscream's dead body, and fired several shots into the rogue Decepticon's head.

To further ensure Starscream was truly dead.

_**"Did you finally get closure?"**_ asked Jack while looking at Arcee, as she stared at the dead Cybertronian for a moment, and then turned to face him.

"In a way. At least Cliffjumper can rest in peace now," answered Arcee with Dreadwing looking at her slightly before walking away.

_**"Dreadwing wait!" **_called out Jack with the large Decepticon stopping.

"Yes Ripper?" asked Dreadwing before turning to look at the boy.

_**"I know you in part blame the Autobots for your twin brother's death, but know that Optimus didn't wish to engage him in battle, and asked him to reconsider his position in continuing the fighting. If anything, you should blame Starscream for it, and his desecration of your brother's grave soon after Megatron's return from stasis,"**_ replied Jack with Dreadwing looking at him with curiosity and suspicion.

"What do you mean? How did Starscream desecrate my brother's grave?" demanded Dreadwing with Jack looking back at the other Autobots and then back at him.

_**"Sometime after Megatron came back from his near death experience, Starscream took a shard of dark energon he had with him to use on your brother in order to make him into a Cybertronian zombie of sorts under his direct command. He only succeeded in achieving **__**half**__** of his objective while events that soon followed trapped your zombie for a brother in an alternate dimension we've called a Shadow Zone,"**_answered Jack with Dreadwing looking horrified by this news before looking at the Autobots and then at the dead corpse of Starscream.

"That's not possible," whispered Dreadwing with Jack wincing.

"Its true. Jack was trapped in the Shadow Zone with your twin after two Ground Bridges opened up near each other to make it happen," added Arcee with Dreadwing shitting his optics, the horror of this news flooding through his very being, and glared at the dead form of Starscream.

"Can we not free from that place? Is it possible?" asked Dreadwing with Jack letting out a noise from his throat.

_**"Even if we did find a way, your brother is dead, a zombie with no sense of direction, and would have to be...**__**killed**__** to prevent Skyquake from causing additional destruction to anyone around him,"**_ answered Jack with Dreadwing clenching his servos in anger.

"I wish to speak to Lord Megatron and Optimus Prime on this matter. If there is a way to bring my brother out from this alternate dimension you speak of Jack, then I wish it to happen, and when the time comes...I will personally end him myself," stated Dreadwing with Jack nodding.

_**"Then let us leave this place Dreadwing and report back to the others of our success on this mission,"**_ replied Jack with Dreadwing nodding while Arcee picked up the Apex Armor before the group left the ship.

_"What do we do about this ship?"_ asked Bumblebee when they were far away from the destroyed Warship.

Only for a massive explosion from within the downed spacecraft to occur and Dreadwing was holding a detonator to the explosive charges used.

"Does that answer your question?" asked Dreadwing in a somewhat icy tone.

_**"Soundwave, lock onto our coordinates, and open up a Ground Bridge. We succeeded in our mission to retrieve the Apex Armor and Starscream has been terminated. I repeat. Starscream has been terminated,"**_ said Jack into his communication system and a Ground Bridge opened up moments later.

_"Who gets the Apex Armor?" _questioned Bumblebee with Dreadwing looking at him for a moment.

"Consider it yours to take back to your base as a show of good faith on our part. Until we team up again Autobots," answered Dreadwing before he walked with Jack to the Ground Bridge.

"Jack wait!" called out Arcee with Jack stopping before he told Dreadwing he would be right behind him.

_**"What is it Arcee?"**_ asked Jack with Arcee walking up to him and after a brief hesitation on her part...hugged him close to her chest.

"I owe you an apology," answered Arcee before she relinquished the hug.

_**"Apology?"**_ questioned Jack with Arcee nodding.

"Yes. I was...wrong to act the way I've been around you and even toward Airachnid to a certain extent. It just hurt to hear from her own mouth what she did with you to create the Sparklings growing inside her body. I don't really want to admit at the time, but...I truly was jealous of Airachnid, and part of me wished I was in her current situation," answered Arcee with Jack looking shocked to hear this.

It was amazing what long drive to clear one's processor can do.

_**"Don't let Airachnid hear that. It will go to her processor,"**_ stated Jack with a smirk on his face while Arcee had one too.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Arcee with her smirk turning into a gentle smile.

_**"I forgive you Arcee. I know things might have been tough between the two of us and Airachnid, but that doesn't mean our friendship has to suffer. In time...perhaps you and Airachnid could be good friends,"**_ said Jack with Arcee shrugging.

"I think that last part is still a long way from happening. Just...don't be a stranger while on Megatron's Warship or when alone with Airachnid. You may be siding the Decepticons, but you'll always be an honorary Autobot to me...partner," replied Arcee before kissing Jack on the forehead and saw the boy turned warrior smiling at her.

"I'll do that...partner," answered Jack before he walked into the Ground Bridge.

Things were looking a little bit brighter.

(A/N: YAY! Another update. Hope you liked it. I figured I would remove Starscream from the equation by this point since he would be a rogue element that both sides would agree needed to be taken care of while pursuing the Omega Keys. With M.E.C.H. having been destroyed by their leader, Starscream is the only rogue element left in my fic, and now he has been killed by both sides. We are getting closer to the end of this fic. Until next time...PEACE!)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13-Shadowed Pain

"So you know," replied Megatron with his back to Dreadwing and sensed his current SIC was angry at having this kept from him.

"Yes. I was informed of Starscream's treachery after he was terminated. Though I _must_ ask _why_ you never inform me of this Lord Megatron? As your loyal second Lieutenant, I deserved to know what befell my twin after his death, and who was responsible for it the stain of dishonor brought upon him," stated Dreadwing, his voice heated with anger, and nearly sounded like a demand.

"I did not tell you because of the rage you have right now toward Starscream. If I told you upon your arrival what he had done, would you have stayed on my ship? Or would you have left to avenge him?" questioned Megatron with Dreadwing being silent and his head bowed slightly.

"I would have left the ship in search of Starscream. and ignoring you in the process Lord Megatron," answered Dreadwing with Megatron nodding.

"Now you know why I kept it from you Dreadwing, but now that you do know the truth of what happened to your twin, I expect this matter to end, and your focus to be properly redirected to what matters most," stated Megatron with Dreadwing pausing for a moment in thought.

"There is one thing I wish to ask of you Lord Megatron. In order to put this matter fully behind me for all time," said Dreadwing with Megatron looking at him now.

"And what would that be Dreadwing?" asked Megatron with Dreadwing looking him right in the optics.

"I wish to free my brother from the dimensional prison his body is trapped in and at the same time...end the zombie like state he has been turned into," answered Dreadwing with Megatron looking over at Optimus Prime.

"Sadly, I do not know much of what truly transpired regarding how that altercation came to pass. You must ask Optimus for assistance on this matter since it was his team that were able to learn this," said Megatron with Optimus looking up from his terminal and walked over to the two Decepticons.

"What you are asking to be done Dreadwing will cause you pain within the Spark that I could not begin to fathom. Is this truly what you want?" replied Optimus with Dreadwing nodding with determination.

"My brother's current state is a dishonor to him as my brother and a warrior. I _must_ do this for him. I know he would do it for me," answered Dreadwing with Optimus nodding.

"Then I will go with you Dreadwing. If only out of respect to see this deed be carried out," said Optimus with Dreadwing nodding.

_**"I'd go with you, but I'm still recovering from my injuries,"**_ replied Jack, as he walked over to the group, and it was clear Knockout had just finished patching him up.

"Soundwave, prepare a Ground Bridge Optimus, and Dreadwing at the coordinates of Skyquake's grave," commanded Megatron with Soundwave doing what was asked of him.

_**"Before you enter that dimension, make sure you have a means to get out of it,"**_ said Jack knowing that the dimensional landscape there didn't do well in terms of frequencies used to communicate.

"We will," replied Optimus before he along with Dreadwing entered the Ground Bridge.

(Skyquake's Grave)

"This is where he was buried," stated Dreadwing with Optimus nodding.

"Yes. I buried him here upon where he fell. Megatron was presumed dead at the time and Starscream was in command of the Decepticons at the time," replied Optimus with the SIC of the Decepticon forces nodding.

"Disturbed by Starscream with that of dark energon to bring him back in his zombie like state," added Dreadwing with Optimus nodding.

"Yes. The blood of Unicron himself," said Optimus with Dreadwing looking at the grave for a moment and then back at the Prime.

"How do we open this dimension to reach my brother?" asked Dreadwing before he saw Optimus pause for a moment and then activated his communication piece to contact his base to talk to Ratchet about the situation.

_"You want to enter the Shadow Zone? To do what?!"_ exclaimed Ratchet loud enough for Dreadwing to hear.

"It is for a noble cause Ratchet. Would you allow myself or any Autobot to be left alone in such a state?" replied Optimus with Ratchet sighing.

_"Optimus, you're talking about entering a dimension we have no way of reaching you in should you crossover into it. The Ground Bridge you want me to open would be closed after entering and then reopened once you were done...well...,"_ answered Ratchet with his words ending since he couldn't really bring himself to say it.

Even now the issue with dark energon and zombies formed from it still made him feel uncomfortable.

"Is there any possible way we can establish some form of communication while within the Shadow Zone dimension?" asked Optimus with Ratchet making humming noise to indicate he was thinking about it.

_"Maybe. Give me a moment to make some calculations and check frequencies in relation to the dimension. If human cell phones can reach each other via text messaging, then we should be able to do something to communicate in some manner of our own. I just need a moment. Raf! I need your input on this,"_ said Ratchet knowing the boy could help.

_"I'll help too. I may have been out of the game since being in prison, but that doesn't mean my brain's rusted,"_ added Janus being overheard by Optimus on his end.

"It seems we will be waiting a little while longer Dreadwing," said Optimus with the SIC of the Decepticons nodding though it was clear he didn't like it.

"As long as we get to my twin, I am content in waiting a little while longer, and putting him to rest when the time comes," replied Dreadwing with his tone clearly showing his mood.

"I cannot imagine how painful this is for you. It once more fills me with regret that I had a hand in Skyquake's death and the result of Starscream's actions allowing him to become an undead Cybertronian," said Optimus with Dreadwing closing his optics for a moment.

"Your concern is admirable Optimus, but all the same, when the time comes to end the corrupted form of my brother, I will be the one to do it, and only ask that you watch. Do not interfere in this personal affair," replied Dreadwing with Optimus nodding.

"I have no intention of denying what your honor demands be resolved Dreadwing. Like you, I am here not only to do what is right, but to achieve closure on this matter. I tried to convince your twin to walk away from the Decepticon cause, but in the end, he chose to fight me, and the end result was what allowed things to happen with Starscream," said Optimus with Dreadwing nodding though it was clear the giant Seeker's Spark was still in pain.

"I do not hate you anymore for that Optimus. My twin died in battle. A death befitting for a warrior of his caliber. My anger is toward Starscream for tainting that death by turning him to an abomination of the undead," replied Dreadwing after a moment went by.

"Starscream has paid for all his crimes with his life Dreadwing. Do not let the anger you feel now fester in your systems like a virus and corrupt your honor like dark energon did your brother's body," stated Optimus with Dreadwing shaking slightly, but stopped a few moments later, and turned to look the Prime right in his optics.

"I will never let that traitor corrupt me, but I cannot let go of my anger until my brother is given a proper burial befitting his warrior status," replied Dreadwing before a Ground Bridge opened up near them.

_"Optimus, I've opened up a portal similar to the one the children went through to get out of the dimension. I've also sent you a system patch for your communications systems to reach me when you've finished handling this matter with Dreadwing's twin brother,"_ came Ratchet's voice with Optimus nodding.

"Thank you old friend. We will contact you once this matter has come full circle," replied Optimus before he along with Dreadwing entered the dimension via the Ground Bridge.

(Autobot Outpost Omega One)

"You seriously left the big guy go in alone with Dreadwing? The Con could use this to take out Optimus and make up any story he wants!" exclaimed Wheeljack with Ratchet sighing.

"As I have told you before Wheeljack, the communication patch can only be used by Optimus himself. The only way Dreadwing could get out of the Shadow Zone is with Optimus still alive and willing to open the portal," said Ratchet with a sigh.

"I still don't like the idea of Optimus going into that dimension to help Dreadwing take down his zombie brother," added Bulkhead while Wheeljack nodded in agreement.

"Calm yourself boys. If there is one thing _I_ know about Dreadwing is that his honor won't allow him to do anything you Autobots would consider to be underhanded. Besides, we both know this is a personal matter, and all forms of backstabbing gets put on hold when it comes all things personal," said Airachnid while on the berth in the main section of the base.

"That's comforting," replied Miko though she made sure it wasn't heard by the Spider Bot.

(With Optimus and Dreadwing)

"Are you sure we went through a dimensional gateway Prime? I do not feel as though I have entered one," questioned Dreadwing with Optimus nodding.

"We will find out soon enough Dreadwing. Skyquake is here in this place. Take to the air to look for him while I look for him on the ground," answered Optimus with the Seeker nodded and took to the air to find his lost twin brother.

As the Decepticon SIC flew through the general area, his mind thought of the past, and how things had changed for him in the time he arrived on this planet. How not that long ago, he had traversed the stars, hunting down Autobots in the name of Megatron, taking down former Wreckers, Scouts, Snipers, and even a few officers that scattered with the masses when Cybertron went dark. And now? Now he was here, on this planet, the place where Unicron _actually_ existed deep within the core of the planet, _was the planet _in fact, and in stasis for who knew how long. The Bringer of Chaos had unknowingly created a species that while weak looking at first, could fight when pushed, and give as good as they got in return. Jack was proof of that, his unique situation not withstanding prior to Megatron's capture of the boy, and then manipulating things to have the human join the Decepticon ranks. Never in a thousand Mega Cycles did Dreadwing believe that the boy would have such an influence on Megatron and change the entire outcome of how the war with the Autobots. To think it was progressing to the point that a truce had been made with a chance to restore Cybertron on the horizon. It was unbelievable!

'If only Skyquake was able to live to see that fateful day and the future of our people now coming upon a chance to heal old wounds,' thought Dreadwing sadly with his Spark now aching at the moment.

_"Dreadwing! I have located Skyquake. I am keeping a respectful distance from him, but he is slowly pursuing me. Lock onto my coordinates," _said Optimus to the Seeker with Dreadwing locking onto his position before moving a high speed to the Prime.

When Dreadwing landed in front of the Prime to face Skyquake, he saw just what had become of his twin brother, and gasped at the state he was in since they last saw each other. Skyquake looked like a corpse, as any Decepticon of Dreadwing's years of fighting in the war could attest to his long life, and saw the wounds that covered his brother's now undead body. Skyquake was missing an arm, his body was missing bits, and pieces of himself with wiring hanging out of his body. Dreadwing saw no life or consciousness in his brother's optics. Just fury, insanity, and above all things...chaos!

Dark energon was Skyquake's new Master now.

"My brother," was all Dreadwing could say at this moment.

"You have to do it Dreadwing. If you do not...Skyquake will forever be a slave, bound to the dark energon that runs through his body, and will never know peace," said Optimus, as he saw Dreadwing hesitate, and needed to be reminded of why he was here.

"I know. Forgive me brother. I do this for the both of us," said Dreadwing, as he drew his sword, and in one single strike...pierced his brother's Spark Chamber with Skyquake's body going limp.

Pulling his sword out, Dreadwing closed his red optics, praying to Primus that his brother would forgive him for this act, and would ask it of him when they one day saw each other when rejoining the All Spark. With the deed done, his prayer sent, Dreadwing picked up the body of his brother, and nodded to the Prime to take them home.

"Optimus to Ratchet, we have completed the assignment. Open up the Ground Bridge for us to reenter our dimension," said Optimus with Ratchet thanking the All Spark in the background and opened up the Ground Bridge for them.

The two warriors walked through the portal, out of the Shadow Zone dimension, each one being quiet on the matter of what happened, and didn't wish to say anything that would ruin their brief moment of silence for the one they brought back. They soon walked to the where the grave of Skyquake was located and Dreadwing put his brother back into the ground. Without a word, Optimus helped Dreadwing bury the fallen warrior, and was surprised that the SIC of the Decepticons had put his sword down as a marker for the grave.

"This sword ended my brother's life Optimus. Even if he was undead, I still ran my blade through his Spark Chamber, and ended his life with it. I can no longer wield this weapon knowing what I have done to him with it. So I can do the only thing I can with this sword and make it a marker for his grave for all time," said Dreadwing at last while watching the Prime nod in understanding.

"He will be missed Dreadwing. Regardless of his past," replied Optimus with Dreadwing nodding in understanding and respect.

"Thank you Optimus. If you will excuse me, I wish to mourn my brother in private for a moment longer, and I wish to do it..._alone_," said Dreadwing with Optimus nodding.

"I will leave you to mourn your twin brother in peace Dreadwing. I must return to the _Nemesis_ to further our progress on finding the Omega Keys," replied Optimus before he made contact with Soundwave at a respectful distance and requested Ground Bridge.

"Its strange brother. At another point in time, I would have fought Optimus Prime in the name of Lord Megatron, just as you would have in my place, and fought to end his Spark. Now, I am helping him, and the Autobots restore Cybertron to its former greatness with the chance for peace between our sides on the horizon. Megatron has a chance to become a Prime and rule Cybertron as Optimus Prime's equal in all things that make them both great leaders. I have even come to respect the species on this planet and the one among them who has even earned the acknowledgement of Lord Megatron himself. I wish you were here brother and see what we are about to accomplish. Perhaps, you are watching from the beyond in the Well of All Sparks, and hoping we are successful in our mission. Goodbye for now my brother, for one day I will see you again, and when that happens...I hope you will understand the path I have chosen," said Dreadwing to his brother's grave and looked at the sword that was once his close range weapon to the marker of his twin's burial site.

With his piece spoken to his deceased brother, Dreadwing transformed into his aerial form, and took to the skies to fly back to the _Nemesis_ while using that time to further reflect on his life leading up to this moment.

(A/N: YAY! Another chapter. Short I know, but I felt it should end here until my next update. We're getting closer to the end. I mean it! I think the next chapter I'll speed things up and cut right to the chase so be ready for the end. Until next time...PEACE!)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14-Objectives Completed

It seemed almost like weeks, if not Months since Optimus began decoding the Iakon Database on the _Nemesis_ with Soundwave not that far away, and had so far decoded only _two_ Omega Key locations. To say that these encryptions were difficult to crack was like saying that Soundwave was the silent type and Optimus conveyed to Megatron that he suspected Alpha Trion being responsible for their current difficulty in breaking the high level encryptions in the first place. Megatron agreed since Soundwave himself was one of the best information and encryption breakers outside of Iakon and was a few steps behind the Prime in decoding.

As good as Optimus Prime (or Orion Pax) and Soundwave were, they were still quite a few levels below the Master Archivist himself, and it would take some time to decode the coordinates for all of the Omega Keys.

As for Jack, he had healed fully by that point, and went relic hunting with Knock Out with the two actually bonding a bit when it came to racing. How Knock Out actually liked street racing, the thrill of it, and took serious offense to anyone scratching his finish like that one human did in one race before he came to Jasper Nevada. Jack agreed that you don't mess with another man's or in Knock Out's case, _bots'_ finish at any point during a race.

That was just mean.

"Well this is the second Omega Key we've acquired. Hopefully, Soundwave along with Optimus will have successfully unlocked the next one, and we can get Cybtertron back to what it looked like before the war," remarked Knock Out with slight impatience in his tone while he held the key in his hands while they walked through the abandoned human summer camp where the Ground Bridge first took them.

He wasn't fond of nature.

_**"You should be lucky we didn't go to the first one in Egypt. You never would have been able to get the sand out of your systems,"**_ replied Jack with Knock Out shivering when hearing about that.

"All that sand getting into..._places_! How can you humans even tolerate it?! And all the changes in temperature? Intense heat during the day and aft freezing cold during the night in that one place. I don't think I'll never fully understand this planet," said Knock Out with Jack shaking his head.

_**"Just be glad we didn't go to the arctic to find this,"**_ replied Jack with Knock Out once more shivering from the Decepticon Medic.

"True. I just wish I could examine that Star Saber we picked up not that long ago after one of the coordinates revealed it to us. Truly a sword made fit for a Prime. It sure is a beauty," added Knock Out with Jack nodding.

_**"I just wish Megatron could wield it. Though I imagine he will after he has been made a Prime,"**_ replied Jack with Knock Out nodding while the Ground Bridge opened up.

"He could, but its color doesn't really fit him. Perhaps Optimus can make one for him with the Forge that better suits his colors," countered Knock Out with Jack letting out a small chuckle.

_**"What is it with you and fashion?"**_ questioned Jack with Knock Out shrugging.

"Call it what you will, I just know certain colors clash, and others meld together well," answered Knock Out with Jack sighing.

"Another successful retrieval I take it?" questioned Megatron after he saw the duo come onboard his ship via the Ground Bridge.

"Without a fuss Lord Megatron. Found it deserted near a lake area. Should we get ready to find Omega Key number three?" said Knock Out with Jack looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

_**"Did you just rhyme on purpose?"**_ asked Jack with Knock Out ignoring him.

"The third Omega Key is being recovered by Dreadwing and a team of Insecticons in a forested area," answered Megatron with Jack nodding since he understood why they were needed.

_**"No doubt in case they need to dig for it,"**_ Jack filled in for Knock Out.

"Exactly. While they are away, Optimus has decided to decode what he assumes is the last, and possibly the most complicated encryption for the final Omega Key," answered Megatron with Jack nodding, but a frown was on his face, and it was clear the boy was now thinking of something no one had yet to realize yet.

_**"There is still an issue we haven't addressed yet regarding when the restoration of Cybertron is over,"**_ said Jack with the two Decepticons looking at him now and so was Optimus since any issue regarding Cybertron deserved his full attention.

"What issue Jack?" asked Optimus after he motioned for Soundwave to take over for him until he finished this conversation with the boy.

_**"The supply of energon you and every other Cybertronian will need once the planet is running again. That was one of the main reasons the war started right? Aside from what Sentential Veta Prime did to make things unequal among the masses?"**_ said Jack with Megatron and Optimus looking at each other before they realized the boy was right.

"That is indeed a problem. With so many of our kind throughout the galaxy returning to our home planet, plus those that will be born from the Well of Allsparks, energon will be strained, even if what is mined here from this planet were taken from every source, and would cause a new problem to arise," said Optimus with Megatron growling in anger since this was indeed a problem they had miscalculated.

"This planet has some deposits of energon that are massive, but they are sadly in places where mining them is not possible, and would only cause problems if we tried," added Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"What about the synthetic energon Ratchet was working on?"**_ asked Jack while he wondered if it was possible to go down that route.

"Synthetic energon?" questioned Megatron with narrowed optics.

"Do you recall the Cybertronian Data Cylinder that held knowledge left by the ancients? It sent the formula on how to create synthetic energon right into Bulkhead's mind and compelled him to right out the formula while overriding his own memory banks. Over time, it would have erased his entire personality, and mind of everything he knew aside from the formula," answered Optimus with Megatron's optics widening.

"So that's why you wanted the data cylinder so badly. You wanted to save the Wrecker's mind from being consumed with this knowledge," replied Megatron with Optimus giving him a brief nod.

"While I wish to have a supply of energon that everyone could share, at the time when the incident occurred, I was not about to sacrifice one of my best for it, and be an empty shell afterwards. I can only assume you would feel the same way if Soundwave or Dreadwing had been in Bulkhead's situation," stated Optimus with Megatron nodding while glancing at Soundwave for a moment.

The Decepticon spymaster was invaluable to Megatron and worth far more to him then any formula for synthetic energon.

"It would also explain Ratchet's sudden power flux when he attacked me in the energon mine I was in when we fought for a brief moment," commented Megatron with Optimus nodding.

"At the time, the synthetic energon Ratchet used on himself without my approval was that of an incomplete formula, and had proven to be unstable when it brought out a side of him I have never seen before," stated Optimus with Jack nodding.

_**"It basically lowered his inhibitions and make him speak his mind on certain matters. It made him say what he kept bottled up inside his processors and do what he would normally refrain from doing...well normally,"**_ added Jack so Megatron could understand just what the stuff did.

"I see. That is a problem. The incomplete version is quite dangerous in bringing out such a side to any of our kind. However, if a perfected version of it existed...," commented Megatron with the others around him nodding.

"It could be the solution to the inevitable future problem we will have with the supply of energon our people will need once our planet is restored," Optimus filled in.

"Do you have any of it at your base Optimus?" asked Megatron with Optimus shaking his head no.

"I ordered Ratchet to put the project on hold and he has not made anymore of it since that incident," answered Optimus with Megatron nodding before Knock Out stepped in.

"Well its a good thing I have some of it in the lab," remarked Knock Out with the others looking at him.

"How?" asked Optimus curiously.

"I went back to the area in the cave where I fought him and what your Medic tried to destroy. I was able to recover a single drop of it and replicate what was there, but I have yet to test the stuff, much less learn _what_ it was until now," answered Knock Out with a confident smirk on his face.

"We should begin working on a means to perfect the synthetic energon immediately! Who knows how long it will take to make a proper version of it when Cybertron is restored," commanded Megatron with Optimus agreeing since there was no telling how long it would be until such an unlimited source of energon was created.

"Ratchet should be brought in on this project Megatron. He understands the incomplete formula we have on hand and would wish to see it perfected," stated Optimus with the Decepticon Warlord agreeing since the two Medics working together could speed up the process.

"Me? Working with that grouch? I knew him before the war even started. He's not what you call...the sharing kind," commented Knock Out with Jack letting out a chuckle.

_**"And that way Ratchet gets upset when you break something he needs? It never gets old when Bulkhead damaged something useful,"**_ added Jack with a laugh.

"You will work with Ratchet on this matter Knock Out. The future of our kind may one day depend upon your shared success," stated Megatron with Knock Out nodding.

"Unfortunately, Ratchet will be hesitant to work onboard this vessel Megatron. Even if I give the order, he will be reluctant to obey, and may not work effectively to his maximum potential," replied Optimus while Megatron let out an annoyed sigh of frustration.

_**"I have an idea that might work,"**_ remarked Jack with everyone looking at him.

"What's the idea? I'm not going to hate it am I?" asked Knock Out with Jack shaking his head no.

_**"You can work in a neutral location. Work at a base of operations that is neither the Autobot base or this Decepticon Warship. Use one of the government facilities on the planet no one is using with Cybertronian tech from here that can be setup on the base. I'm sure Agent Fowler can arrange it if we pitch the idea the right way to him before he talks to his own superiors on the matter,"**_ answered Jack with Optimus thinking it over before nodding.

"Not bad Ripper. I'm sure such a location will help Ratchet focus on the task at hand and Knock Out will be able to have the necessary working space to work on the project," said Megatron with Optimus nodding since it would make the Autobot Medic feel relaxed in such a chosen base of operations.

_**"Also, I think we should bring Raf, and...Janus in on the project,"**_ added Jack while not wanting to call the man his Father.

He just couldn't call him that.

"Are you sure Jack?" asked Optimus seeing the slight tenseness in the boy.

_**"Raf's a genius, who can understand what Bee says when no other human can even begin to understand what's coming out of him, and my...and **__**Janus**__** isn't a slouch either in that area. He may have been in prison, but his mind hasn't rusted since then, and its not like the man can just run off. Where would Janus go anyway if he did? The man is still considered an escaped prisoner and fugitive. We can have him work on the project with the others and Fowler can convince his superiors it will be productive in helping him serve his time doing something constructive for a change,"**_ answered Jack with Optimus nodding in agreement.

"Great. I'll have to watch where I step," remarked Knock Out while getting a glare from Megatron.

"You have to do that regardless on this ship when it comes to Ripper. I suggest you do that with the two humans you will have as assistance with on the matter," said Megatron, as Knock Out quickly nodded with a nervous smile on his face, and decided to stay quiet for the moment.

"I will contact Agent Fowler to setup the necessary arrangements," said Optimus before heading to a nearby communication terminal.

"I thank you in advance for bringing this to our attention Ripper. It saved us from having to deal with a short lived Golden Age on Cybertron and sent us right back into another conflict," said Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"Thank you Father,"**_ replied Jack in a humble voice.

"Lord Megatron, we have received word from Dreadwing. He says the third Omega Key has been retrieved," said a Vehicon with Megatron grinning.

"Excellent! Open up a Ground Bridge to let him and the Insecticons back onto the ship," ordered Megatron to Soundwave.

_**"And now there is one left,"**_ stated Jack while slightly wondering why the last one was the hardest to decode.

It must have been in a very secretive location.

"Ratchet has agreed with some reluctance to work with Knock Out on the project and Janus has agreed to assist as well. Our young human charge Rafael can not, as he is too young, and we cannot have his family know of his involvement with us," said Optimus, as he just finished talking to everyone at the base, and saw Jack sigh.

_**"Well...maybe Knock Out, Janus, or Ratchet can send him some test sample data when time permits,"**_ offered Jack with Optimus nodding since that idea did come up.

"Raf's thoughts exactly. The boy wants to see the synthetic energon perfected for use for all of us and will help when he can though his time doing so will be shortened on account of his Mother becoming suspicious of his afterschool activities," replied Optimus with Jack smiling.

"How is the decoding of the coordinates for the last Omega Key coming along Optimus?" asked Megatron with the Prime looking over at Soundwave working on it.

"Soundwave and I are working together on the decoding process Megatron, but this level of encryption for this Omega Key is the most complex of them all. I feel it will take our combined skills in this field to find the last Omega Key coordinates," answered Optimus with Megatron nodding.

"I won't keep you. Inform me when you have located it so we can plan on sending out a proper retrieval team," stated Megatron with the Prime nodding.

They were getting closer.

(Autobot Base Omega One)

"You can't be serious? Working with Knock Out on synthetic energon? Its bad enough we have to partner up to find the Omega Keys, but now we have to combined our efforts for this too?" questioned Smokescreen with Ratchet sighing for what felt like the billionth time at the new recruit's complaining.

"Smokescreen, as much as I dislike the idea of working with Knock Out, it is clear we need their help to perfect the synthetic energon, or the new age on Cybertron will be a short lived one. Even if we mined all the energon from this planet down to the last drop, it would only sustain the estimated masses we will no doubt have for a short time, and cause another war for the remaining amount that's left. Synthetic energon when perfected and safe to use will be key to solving that particular problem after Cybertron is restored," explained Ratchet for the billionth time.

"And working with the Decepticons on this project is the best way to achieve it? Don't you have any concerns that Knock Out will snuff your Spark out when the project has been successfully completed?" questioned Smokescreen with Ratchet pausing in his preparation for moving to the neutral base Agent Fowler setup for them.

"Of course I do. Anyone, who has lived as long as I have, and seen the war like I have will tell you that I trust the Decepticons as much as I trust Scraplets to not eat us. But with the prospect of peace and the need for energon to sustain it afterwards...I can't just ignore this opportunity to perfect the synthetic energon so no one has to suffer from the lack of it," answered Ratchet with Smokescreen looking at him in shock.

"Plus you get work with Cybertronian tech rather then the human kind this time around," commented Janus with Ratchet looking a bit sheepish.

"Well...there is that," replied Ratchet while trying to keep the look on his face hidden from the others.

"I knew it," replied Miko from her position in the human area with Ratchet grumbling something about annoying human femmes.

"Just keep us in the loop Ratchet. There is no telling what might happen," warned Arcee since she wasn't about to celebrate just yet.

"Will do," replied Ratchet before the Ground Bridge opened and sent him to the set of coordinates Agent Fowler provided.

"I wish my Jack were here. Then again, I don't want him to see me all bloated, and fat like some overweight Constructicon," mumbled Airachnid with her eyes looking at the Ground Bridge longingly.

"Your mood swings aren't going to be a problem while I'm here?" questioned Arcee with Airachnid letting out a small chuckle.

"Not right now at the moment. Though why you are still here is beyond me. This is the perfect opportunity for you," replied Airachnid with Arcee raising an eyebrow at her.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Arcee with Airachnid letting out a chuckle from her mouth.

"Isn't it obvious? You could request to be on the _Nemesis_ to see Jack. Maybe even try seducing him like I did and using the various methods I used to...," answered Airachnid with the unfinished sentence hanging in the air for Arcee to understand what she was implying.

"What? Seduce Jack? Are you out of your fragging mind? You want me to do what you did and possibly...well be like you are now?" questioned Arcee with Airachnid's chuckle increasing.

"Please! You are hardly like me. Oh! You mean the state I'm in now. Sorry. I don't think my processor is functioning properly," answered Airachnid with the Autobot femme now unsure of how to talk to her.

"You know what I mean Airachnid. You want me to go the Decepticon Warship, to see Jack, to do what you did with him, and get pregnant with his Sparklings? Why? Why are you even suggesting it to me?" questioned Arcee with Airachnid sighing.

"Because Arcee, as much as I despise you with all of my Spark, I know Jack cares about you deeply, and you care about him just as deeply. It almost hurts me in a way knowing that I have to share him with you, but at the same time, it doesn't bother me, as I was the first of us to achieve something no one thought possible, and was his first among us to be with Jack to make it happen. I can live with the fact you will get to enjoy the spenders of such a thing knowing I was the first among us to have it," answered Airachnid with Arcee narrowing her optics at the Spider Bot.

"You act like this is a competition between us. That you've somehow won against me," remarked Arcee with Airachnid letting out a laugh.

"Haven't I? Since the beginning of our feud, it has always been a competition between us in game of who could hurt the other the most, and I have come out the winner with the most victories. I killed Tailgate, which hurt you, I hurt Jack when he was once a prisoner, and hurt you again in the process. I have laid with Jack, which hurt you, followed by the fact I carry his offspring, and we both know that hurt you the most due to your feelings for Jack that reside in your Spark. Of course, I am a gracious winner, and that is why I want this game to end on a high note for both of us. We both get what we want and the feud between us ends," answered Airachnid with Arcee looking at her in shock.

"You are insane. Its clear your mind has traveled down the perverse and illogical from the pregnancy," stated Arcee with Airachnid smirking at her.

"Perhaps it is. All the same, you can't deny that part of you wishes to have what I have right now, and experience what I did to make it happen. Don't lie Arcee. I can see it in your optics. The only thing holding you back is knowing he was with me first," replied Airachnid with Arcee frowning at her and looking away.

"Its not like that," countered Arcee with Airachnid still looking at her.

"Swear upon the Allspark that you are telling me the truth and I'll believe you Arcee," said Airachnid with Arcee's form going tense.

"I...I can't," said Arcee with Airachnid smirking at her.

"So you like Jack in that way too?! And want his kids like Airachnid?! Gross!" exclaimed Miko with Arcee groaning in frustration since she knew the girl would blab this to the others.

Keeping secrets were not the Asian girl's forte.

"Oh be quiet!" Arcee shot back at the girl before driving off while Smokescreen and Bulkhead just looked at each other.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear their disturbing conversation," said Smokescreen with the Wrecker nodding.

"Yeah. What you just said," replied Bulkhead before they went to get some energon.

(_The Nemesis_-Sometime Later)

"This can't be right," mumbled Optimus, as he finally decoded the last encryption for the Omega Keys, and turned to Soundwave with the Decepticon looking at the screen.

Though the Prime suspected the Decepticon spymaster would show his surprise if he had a face to begin with.

"You found the last Omega Key?" questioned Megatron with Optimus nodding.

"If what we have decoded is indeed correct, the last Omega Key we need is in fact _inside_ of Smokescreen," answered Optimus with Megatron looking at his findings and was just as shocked as the Prime himself.

"How is this possible? Does your subordinate even know about this? Could he have been hiding it from us the entire time?" questioned Megatron with Optimus shaking his head no.

"I do not believe he would do that Megatron. Smokescreen is many things, but when it comes to the revival of our world, I have no doubts in my mind that he would have told me about the Omega Key. My guess is that it was put in his body sometime during his time at Iakon without his knowledge and most likely by Alpha Trion himself. It also helps explain why the encryption for this last Omega Key was so difficult to decode from the start," answered Optimus with Megatron nodding.

_**"How could it have gotten inside his body without him knowing? These Omega Keys aren't exactly small enough to hide and surgery of any kind would have put him in stasis for a time. He would have remembered a time when that happened,"**_ said Jack after jumping up onto one of Soundwave's hands.

"One of the relics we have recovered was the Phase Shifter. It is possible that Alpha Trion used it on Smokescreen during one of his routine stasis naps," answered Optimus with Megatron nodding in agreement.

_**"I don't suppose he'd willingly come up here with the Phase Shifter to extract it after a proper scan of his body?"**_ questioned Jack with Optimus shaking his head.

"No. I will have to address him myself. If anyone else does, I believe Smokescreen will become agitated, and refuse any kind of investigation with his impulsive nature making him...violent," replied Optimus with Megatron nodding in agreement.

"I would be cautious of him Optimus. His tendency to act recklessly when around others or my troops brings Starscream's own past actions to the forefront of my mind," replied Megatron with Optimus nodding with a bit of reluctance.

"All the more reason for me to speak to him alone Megatron. If anyone here aside from myself were to talk to Smokescreen, it would only bring about hesitation, and mistrust from him in the end," stated Optimus with Jack sighing.

_**"No argument from me Optimus. He didn't exactly warm up to my presence when I told him my rank when among the Decepticons. The rookie is trigger happy. Damn near got ready to blast me into a hundred different pieces,"**_ added Jack with Optimus nodding in agreement before he moved to a nearby communication terminal to contact the Autobot Elite Guard trained warrior.

(With Smokescreen)

The Autobot Elite Guard trained warrior was currently driving at high speeds through the Nevada desert, loving the freedom of the open road, the ability to drive fast, no restraint, and no restrictions when like this. Sure the human police force would pop up, try to chase him for going over the speed limit, but they never did catch up to his form, and he could only let out a chuckle at how they couldn't keep up no matter how hard they tried.

_"Optimus to Smokescreen, come in Smokescreen,"_ came Optimus's voice with the Elite Guard Autobot stopping after putting the petal down on the break.

"Optimus, what's up?! Did you find all the keys? Or did the Cons break the agreement?" asked Smokescreen while hearing Optimus letting out something that sounded almost like a sigh of frustration.

_"No Smokescreen. Megatron and the Decepticons have not broken the agreement. I need you to come in immediately. We have decoded the last encryption for the Omega Keys and require you here on the Nemesis with the Phase Shifter,"_ replied Optimus while Smokescreen would have looked shocked if he wasn't in his vehicle mode.

"What? Are you sure? How do I know this isn't Soundwave playing a trick on me?" asked Smokescreen while sensing Optimus was getting a bit impatient with the stubborn rookie.

_"I am sure Smokescreen. The last encryption was written by Alpha Trion himself and it revealed that the last Omega Key is in fact...inside of you,"_ replied Optimus with the rookie transforming in the middle of the empty desert freeway and pacing around with a finger on his Comm. system.

"What? How is that possible? I think I would notice if Alpha Trion or anyone else put an Omega Key inside my body Optimus," countered Smokescreen since he found this hard to believe.

_"Which is why we need the Phase Shifter, as it is the only way Alpha Trion could have put it in you without anyone knowing until the last entry was decoded. Head back to base and retrieve it so we can find out if the information in the Iakon Database is indeed accurate. This is not a request Smokescreen. Its an order,"_ commanded Optimus with Smokescreen looking distraught.

"You want me to come up there to the Decepticon Warship? Are you sure that is even wise Optimus?" asked Smokescreen with the sound of Optimus sighing in frustration being clear as day.

It was clear the Prime's patience was getting thin.

_"This is not up for debate Smokescreen. It is important that you follow my command on this. We are on the brink of reviving Cybertron and according to the information we have just obtained the last Omega Key was secretly placed within you," _answered Optimus with Smokescreen still a bit unsure.

"Okay. I'll head back to base and get the Phase Shifter. I'll let you know when I do and send a Ground Bridge to my coordinates when I'm ready," stated Smokescreen since he didn't want to give the location of the Autobot base to the Decepticons since the issue of trusting them was sketchy.

_"Understood. Optimus Prime out,"_ replied Optimus before he cut communication off with the rookie.

(_The Nemesis_-Med Lab)

"I'm not so sure about this Optimus. I mean...me? Holding one of the Omega Keys? It seems a bit...out there!" said Smokescreen, as he sat on the examination table, and was with Optimus currently putting the Phase Shifter on his right arm.

"Stranger things have happened Smokescreen," replied Optimus Prime, as he put his hand into the Autobot's body, and moved around until he felt something in the rookie before he pulled out the final Omega Key.

"Whoa! I don't know whether to feel happy or scared that I was...what's the word to use? Violated?" asked Smokescreen seeing the last Omega Key in the Prime's hand.

"Perhaps, but Alpha Trion had faith that his plan to keep the Omega Key safe inside of your body would help us in the long run, and his faith was not misplaced," answered Optimus while walking over to where the other Omega Keys were gathered.

"So...how do we make them work?" asked Smokescreen while Megatron and Soundwave entered the room to see the last key in the Prime's hands.

"The Omega Keys must be used to open what is called the Omega Lock, which is located on Cybertron. According to the message left by Alpha Trion in the Star Saber, the Omega Lock is tied directly to the Allspark itself, and its ancient power can somehow restore Cybertron to what it was before the war," explained Optimus before turning to face both Megatron and Soundwave while Smokescreen seemed to become tense around the two Decepticons.

"Unfortunately, it appears Alpha Trion failed to mention how to use the Omega Keys in finding the Omega Lock, and no doubt did that to ensure it never fell into Decepticon hands," stated Megatron with Optimus nodding.

"Alpha Trion did not anticipate we would unite together for the common goal or how they things played out as they did since Unicron's defeat by our combined efforts against him," replied Optimus with Megatron nodding in agreement.

"Now that we have all the Omega Keys out in the open, we need to find a way to locate the Omega Lock, and restore Cybertron to its former glory," said Megatron while he took hold of one Omega Key on the table and began to thinking what needed to be done.

"Its a shame that we can't make some kind of device to find the Omega Lock using the Forge of Solus Prime," commented Smokescreen with Optimus shaking his head.

"Such a device requires a sample of the Omega Lock's dormant energy signature. One we do not have. We must somehow use the Omega Keys in our possession in a way that will reveal to us the exact location of the Omega Lock," stated Optimus with Smokescreen scratching the top of his head in frustration.

"Shame we can't use the Forge to make some backup keys. What if we experiment with them and they break?" questioned Smokescreen with the Prime once more shaking his head.

"The skill needed to make new Omega Keys is a level of mastery I do not possess at this time. As such, I would rather use the Forge to make certain things we can use, or fix what have been broken. Smokescreen, I will leave the solving of this puzzle to you, and Jack after he is informed of this," answered Optimus before walking over to the Forge of Solus Prime.

"You're not going to help us solve this mystery?" asked Smokescreen while Optimus took a simple component from the nearby shelf and put it on a nearby table.

"No. I need to use the Forge of Solus Prime to help my Scout reclaim his ability to speak like the rest of us," answered Optimus with Megatron smirking at him.

"You always do think of others Optimus. No doubt the Scout will be happy to have his ability to properly speak returned to him," said Megatron while watching Optimus work with the Forge and the power being used to create Bumblebee's new voice box.

(Sometime Later)

Arcee found herself on the _Nemesis_, per her request to Optimus, and was surprised to get it after Megatron agreed since she had explained her reason was to see Jack. For some reason, the Autobot femme felt her internal temperature increase when she explained herself, and it spiked even higher in the red while walking through the Warship to find him. She didn't even know _WHY_ she felt compelled to come here and see Jack in the first place. Maybe it was Airachnid's words. Maybe it was some whispery voice in the back of her processor telling the Autobot femme to do something. She didn't know. What Arcee _DID_ know, is that she was here, on this ship, and looking for Jack to talk to him about the future.

Her future.

Their future.

What the future held for them and to a certain extent...for Airachnid.

'I must be going out of my mind. Coming here to this ship, to see Jack, to talk about _that_, much less hoping he would even consider being in a relationship to do _that_, and handle the fragged up way our lives had turned. To even consider patching things up with my most hated of enemies, sharing the one person in our lives that treats us both like we are special, and puts up with all our seemingly intolerable glitches,' thought Arcee, as she walked through the ship, and ended up finding Jack in the Med Lab where he along with Smokescreen were looking at the Omega Keys.

Well Jack was looking while Smokescreen was slamming one against the table.

_**"You really are a moron. You know that right?"**_ said Jack while he sat cross-legged on the table and Smokescreen glared at him.

"Well the keys aren't exactly showing us what to do and there is no instruction manual for them," countered Smokescreen while Jack raised an eyebrow at him.

_**"And smashing one of the Omega Keys against the table until it become bent or broken is a better alternative? Seriously? Did the Elite Guard forget to teach you to use your head and think? Or did you flunk that course?" **_questioned Jack with Smokescreen now looking to smack him with the key in his hand.

"Say that again. I dare you!" challenged Smokescreen with Jack smirking.

_**"Did you flunk the course on how to use your brain?"**_ said Jack with Smokescreen, on impulse raised his hand holding the Omega Key, and was about to hit the teenager with it before Arcee stepped in with her own hand stopping the violent act.

"That's enough from both of you," commanded Arcee though she sent Smokescreen a harsh glare since the idiot was smashing one of the Omega Keys against a table and then planned to use it against Jack.

"He started it," complained Smokescreen before he was disarmed of the Omega Key and it was put down on the table.

"Yeah well I'm ending it. Go do something else while Jack and I take care of this," said Arcee with Smokescreen looking between the two.

"You can't! Optimus put me on this job," protested Smokescreen with Arcee rolling her optics.

"Yeah well I doubt Optimus will keep you on if he learns you're smashing one of the Omega Keys like a club on the table and then tried to use it against Jack," countered Arcee with Smokescreen looking at Jack and then back at her.

"He still started it," remarked Smokescreen in a childish fashion.

"And I'm ending it. Out! Now!" commanded Arcee while pointing to the door with Smokescreen reluctantly leaving the room.

_**"I knew you loved me,"**_ remarked Jack before seeing Arcee glare at him.

"Zip it! I'm here to actually help get things done. Why did you even let him do that to the Omega Key in the first place?" questioned Arcee with Jack giving her a "seriously?!" look.

_**"Aside from getting into a fight that would have done more harm then good...what could I do exactly?"**_ countered Jack with Arcee thinking about it for a few seconds.

"Good point. Actually, _THE_ reason I'm here is to talk to you...about us," replied Arcee with Jack looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

_**"About us?"**_ asked Jack while Arcee nodded and he could tell she was nervous.

"Jack you are my friend and my partner. I was...I _am_ proud to call you that, but...would it be possible for our relationship to go...to go _beyond _that of friendship?" questioned Arcee with Jack looking at her with a bit of surprise that she would ask him that.

_**"Beyond friendship?"**_ asked Jack with Arcee looking away for a moment.

"Yes. The kind you had or have with...with Airachnid," answered Arcee and was hated to say the same of the Spider Bot even now.

_**"Ah! I see. **__**THAT**__** kind of relationship. With the end results too, right?"**_ replied Jack with a smirk on his face and it showed a hint of mischievousness while Arcee looked away with embarrassment.

"You're not going to make this easy on me, are you?" questioned Arcee with Jack letting out a chuckle.

_**"When do I ever make things easy for you? It takes all the fun out of my life Arcee. You know that!"**_ answered Jack with Arcee sighing and decided to focus on the Omega Keys for a moment.

"We'll talk about this later. Now that we have to figure out how to use these keys to find the lock that will restore Cybertron," said Arcee with Jack smirking at her for a moment before turning to the puzzle in front of them.

_**"Shame you can't merge them together to make one big super key with a computer system. Maybe then it would tell us something,"**_ commented Jack with Arcee looking at him for a moment before taking two of the keys and smashing them together.

Cause them to fit perfectly.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Arcee with Jack smiling up at her.

_**"Oh yeah!"**_ exclaimed Jack before picking up one of the keys, which wasn't easy on his end, and threw it to Arcee before she put it with the other two.

Within moments, all the Omega Keys were all connected together, and revealed a holo-projection of Cybertron with the location of the Omega Lock. Within moments, Jack called Megatron, and Optimus to the Med Lab where they showed what happened when putting all the Omega Keys together to show where they needed to go.

"Well done Ripper. You too Arcee. With the location of the Omega Lock now located, we can use the Space Bridge to travel to Cybertron, and use the Omega Keys to bring it back to life," said Megatron with Jack nodding.

_**"Where is it located exactly? I was only on Cybertron for a short time when I was first there,"**_ said Jack while looking at that section of Cybertron where the Omega Lock was located.

"Its location is around the Sea of Rust. A desolate place on Cybertron where the chances of a Cybertronian rusting was rather high. Not unlike Earth's desert wastelands where the intense heat would slowly destroy all non native organic life," answered Optimus with Jack nodding.

_**"Shame I can't go with you guys. I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion for heading back in a return visit to Cybertron,"**_ replied Jack with Optimus and Megatron frowning.

"I will ask Agent Fowler to procure another space suit or some means of protection for the trip Jack. You have helped us all come together for this momentous occasion. It is only fair you share in seeing Cybertron's restoration happen," said Optimus with Jack smiling at him.

_**"Don't forget Miko and Raf. We both know the former is going to raise all kinds of Hell worthy of a Wrecker if she doesn't go this time,"**_ said Jack with a chuckle soon following.

"She will too," added Arcee with Megatron raising an eyebrow at her before looking at Jack with the boy nodding that he wasn't bluffing.

"Optimus can setup the arrangements. For now Ripper, you can go relax with Arcee, or go see Airachnid. Maybe both," said Megatron with Jack nodding before he jumped onto Arcee's open hand.

_**"This way Arcee. I'll show you my personal quarters,"**_ stated Jack with Arcee smirking at him.

"Suddenly feeling bold Jack?" questioned Arcee while they headed in that direction.

_**"You have no idea how bold,"**_ answered Jack with the doors to the room the others were in shutting behind them.

"Their partnership is weird," was all Smokescreen could say at this point with neither Optimus or Megatron saying anything.

As for Soundwave, while the spymaster knew everything that happened onboard this Warship, he was going to make sure what Jack, and Arcee did privately was _NOT_ known to him.

Or recorded for that matter.

There was just _some_ things one should do with such abilities.

(Cybertron-Sometime Later)

"Wow! Its so...well you know," remarked Miko in her own suit, which she had painted different colors to fit her personality, and gave Agent Fowler a headache in the process.

_**"That's all about to change Miko. Just don't say anything that will upset everyone with us. Cybertron's current state is a bitter reminder of what was done here for well over a thousand years,"**_ said Jack currently beside the Asian girl, who looked a bit sheepish, but he knew that she understood, and would follow through with the order.

"I'm just glad we got to see the restoration of Cybertron," said Raf, who was excited to see this monumental occasion that would never be seen by any other human aside from his closest friends.

_**"No argument here little man. No argument here,"**_ replied Jack with a smirk before the combined force of Autobot and Decepticon arrived at the Omega Lock with the Omega Keys in hand.

Two in Megatron's hands and two were in Optimus's own.

"I've dreamed of this moment in my deepest of stasis naps. Seeing Cybertron once more become the splendor of the Galaxy that it once was during the golden age. Now I will see it become a reality," whispered Dreadwing while seeing Megatron and Optimus put the Omega Keys into position.

"Yeah. I've felt the same way. Its almost funny when you think about it. One moment, we're at each other's throats trying to kill each other, and the next...," said Wheeljack, as he couldn't believe this was happening, and it was clear Dreadwing couldn't either.

_**"Everyone is working together,"**_ finished Jack with Wheeljack and Dreadwing nodding in agreement.

"Hard to imagine this would happen, right Arcee?" asked Airachnid being held by several Insecticons supporting her body with Arcee standing right beside her.

"You can say that again," commented Arcee while looking over where Jack was and smiled slightly while the young warrior smirked in her direction from his own suit.

"So when should Jack and I expect to see you looking fatter then a Constructicon?" asked Airachnid with Arcee shooting her a look.

"That's none of your business," replied Arcee tightly with Airachnid smirking.

"I knew you would take my advice Arcee. I always could read you like a simple line of code," remarked Airachnid with Arcee letting out a growl, but kept her anger in check, and looked at Optimus putting in the last Omega Key.

"At long last Optimus, our home planet will be restored, and in time...all the energon our people will ever need," stated Megatron with Optimus nodding.

"Indeed Megatron. And in the process, you will become a Prime, and together we will bring about new golden age for Cybertron," stated Optimus with Megatron watching the power of the Omega Lock begin restoring Cybertron to its pristine state before the war.

"Its actually working," said Dreadwing in awe of what his optics were seeing.

_**"Soundwave, make sure you're recording all of this for Ratchet, and Knock Out to see since they are still on Earth working on the synthetic energon. I don't want them to be deprived of seeing this in action,"**_ said Jack with Soundwave nodding and doing just that since this would be a day long remembered in Cybertron's history.

It was something to be shared by all.

(Epilogue-3 Years Later)

The tall buildings of Cybertron shined brightly from the light given by the star that gave them a clear blue sky, as the Tower of Iakon shinned the brightest of them all. The slick white Cybertronian tower had several windows on various floors to look over the grand site of the area, as far as Cybertronian optics could see, and at the very top floor of the Iakon tower stood none other then...Megatronus Prime. The former Warlord of all the Decepticons had done all that was asked of him and had at last earned the right to be a Prime. He looked over his home world, as his fellow Cybertronians walked through the streets on the various levels of the planet, and all that had happened since Cybertrons restoration.

A transmission was sent out throughout the known galaxy and all others that only those of Cybertronian tech could pickup telling all the masses that scattered of the planet's return to glory. Of the peace made between Autobots and Decepticons with the war being officially over with no further need for fighting. Within the first year of the transmission sent, hundreds of Cybertronians from both sides flocked back to Cybertron, the recording that was provided by Soundwave of the Omega Lock bringing the planet back to life sent in the transmission helped convince them it wasn't a trick, and with Optimus standing side by side with Megatron while it happened further proved the war was indeed over.

As for the synthetic energon, it had taken roughly that same amount of time nonstop with nearly countless tests, and careful study before the green liquid was perfected for safe use for all Cybertronians without the side effects Ratchet suffered when given to him during that one time. Even then, both Medics agreed it could still use some fine tuning since they had yet to fully perfect it to the way the synthetic energon was intended, and probably still wouldn't perfect it for many years.

At least the synthetic energon was safe to use and the fear of an energon shortage was averted in part thanks to Jack bringing the issue up prior to using the Omega Keys to activate the Omega Lock. Megatronus had seen the energon stockpiled on his Warship and what was mined from Earth being depleted at a fast rate that would have spelled doom for the now golden age of Cybertron was now having if the synthetic energon wasn't looked into for study.

As for Jack, he was back on Earth, raising his Sparklings he had with Airachnid, and Arcee there while occasionally coming to Cybertron to visit. From what Megatronus had heard, Jack's femme sire was shocked that he was now not only the Father to Airachnid's offspring, but Arcee's offspring as well, and had collapse in shock at the incredible news. Megatronus didn't know why the human femme had that reaction, but then again it was probably due to the shock of her being an actual "Grandmother" as human's called it when a femme's child was old enough to have a child of their own, and yet the title itself had a certain...prestige to it. It also made him a Grandfather too, as Jack still called him Father despite Janus being somewhat in the picture again, and Megatronus wondered if the boy would ever truly forgive his biological sire for the past deeds done against him.

Could Jack truly forgive Megatronus himself for doing what he did to him? The torture? The cybernetic enhancements that were surgically implanted? The reprogramming of the boy's mind? The missions that killed humans? That nearly killed several of the Autobots when in battle?

Deep in his Spark, the former Decepticon Warlord turned Prime believed Jack did forgive him, and the belief was further enforced when the boy visited with a smile on his face. Jack was not one to lie to him or hide personal feelings when they talked to each other during the last three years since Cybertron's return to greatness. The boy had sought out both Optimus's and Megatronus's guidance equally on matters of the heart while giving them the same level of respect in return. As for Jack himself, the now young man had long since regained much of his dark colored hair, though he kept it short, the kind you would find with the military unit among the human's Marines, and Megatronus was told they were considered the elite fighting unit. They trained hard, fought hard, and believed in loyalty to each other that one could easily respect. In fact, Jack had joined the Marines when he was old enough, though his femme sire was against it at first, but her son had explained he couldn't spend his life in Jasper anymore, and that the "greater workings of the world, and beyond were calling to him" with Agent Fowler being there to throw in his support too.

_He can't exactly stay in Jasper as it is with his appearance June. Your son kind of sticks out like a lit Roman Candle in a dark cave with his enhancements. The military brass I report to are already aware of his condition and they want to recruit him to the fold for capturing some of the remaining M.E.C.H. agents scattered throughout the world. Silas and the majority of his group were caught, but there are a few digging deep while making plans of their own in the next few years. Like it or not June...the boy will be needed and soon. The Autobots and Decepticons will be too busy doing their own thing in bringing back Cybertron's populace back along with working on the synthetic energon to help us with this matter._

June knew Agent Fowler had a point and finally relented though she knew that a proper cover story for those that knew Jack had to be created to ensure no one knew what had become of him. Since Jack had first been taken to the _Nemesis_, June had informed the school of her son "studying aboard", and wouldn't be attending school there until further notice with Agent Fowler having played the necessary role to backup her lie that did become _partially_ true later on.

And sure enough, Jack had answered the call to fight against the various evil's his world had produced with the scattered M.E.C.H. agents setting up their own organizations to continue Silas's work. Jack officially joined the military within a year since Cybertron was brought back to life while unofficially hunting down the enemy and following their movements when it was required.

By after two years and three Months of scouring the globe for them, Jack was successful in completely ending the M.E.C.H. organization, and what organizations branched from it. The tech confiscated was studied thoroughly and was used to help mankind rather then destroy it like such things would in the wrong hands. Janus had, after he was secretly pardoned of course, became Head of the new Science Division setup to use such advance technology to help heal the bodies of humans, and lengthen their life spans further. The technology was used to cure diseases, find tumors before they spread, and even get rid of certain cancers that popped up. June herself had been recruited to help with this, despite being overwhelmed at first, and recently went from nurse June Darby to Dr. June Darby.

The femme girl named Miko was currently with Bulkhead on Earth in the country of Japan in the city called Tokyo, as the girl was now old enough by human standards to drive, and made up a rather bizarre cover story to her parents on how she acquired the Wrecker in his vehicle form. Dreadwing and Wheeljack came along to see the sites of that part of the world since they had learned much about the culture there being truly unique. They both particularly liked the stories of ancient samurai warriors, wielding swords in battle, fighting for the honor, and glory of the Daimyo they served.

Though they never fully understood the whole monster movie thing with Godzilla and the giant lizard's constant returns to destroy stuff.

As for the once small boy that was once Rafael, the young hacker had eventually decided to share the secret of knowing alien robots with his parents, and Megatronus had to admit the boy's sires along with his siblings took things remarkably well. Aside from the sudden screams of fright, some fainting, and sudden humans cursing from the surprise of seeing several giant robot aliens transforming of course. The large family of the boy were even more shocked that Bumblebee was the boy's ride to school all this time and they never knew about it.

"I see you are enjoying the view of the outside once again Megatronus," said Optimus with the Prime walking over to him.

"Its difficult not to Optimus. I never would have imagined this possible if not for Jack's help," stated Megatronus with Optimus, not having his lower face plate cover on, looking at him with a genuine smile, and put a hand on the former Kaon Gladiator's shoulder.

"Agreed Megatronus. Our lives and the given outcome with Cybertron's own restoration would be very much different now if it were not for Jack Darby's actions in uniting us together for a common goal," replied Optimus with Megatron nodding in full agreement.

"I have made sure Cybertron's history regarding the moment our new golden age came to pass was made possible not just by you or me Optimus, but by Jack as well. He deserves nothing less," said Megatronus while Optimus smiled further and the two Primes looked at the vast area that was Cybertron below them.

Peace had been reached...at last!

-FIN!

(A/N: YAY! I FINISHED! OVER AND DONE WITH! Hope you all liked it.. I figured this was the perfect moment to end the fic. Until next time...PEACE!)


End file.
